cancer

JAN

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Symptom clusters and experiences of patients with cancer
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Neziha Karabulu, Behice Erci, Nadiye Ozer & Sureyya Ozdemir
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Accepted for publication 11 December 2009

Correspondence to B. Erci: e-mail: [e-mail]
Neziha Karabulu PhD
Assistant Professor
Surgical Nursing Department, School of
Nursing, Ataturk University, Erzurum,
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Turkey
Behice Erci PhD RN
Professor
Department of Public Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Ataturk University, Erzurum,
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Turkey
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Nadiye Ozer PhD
Assistant Professor
Surgical Nursing Department, School of
Nursing, Ataturk University, Erzurum,
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Turkey
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Sureyya Ozdemir MSc
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Nurse
Medical Oncology Departments, Ataturk
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University Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey

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K A R A B U L U N . , E R C I B . , O Z E R N . & O Z D E M I R S . ( 2 0 1 0 ) Symptom clusters and experiences of patients with cancer. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(5), 1011–1021. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05254.x

Abstract
Title. Symptom clusters and experiences of patients with cancer.
Aim. This study is a report of a study to characterize the prevalence and severity of symptoms in patients with cancer and describing the clustering of symptoms.
Background. Patients with cancer experience multiple symptoms caused by multiple factors, including progression of the cancer, acute physiological changes associated with treatment, delayed side effects of treatment and long-term consequences of the disease. Methods. A convenience sample of 287 patients with cancer at a Turkish university hospital completed a structured questionnaire on demographical characteristics and a symptom inventory for patients with cancer. Cluster analysis, principal components and internal consistency reliability analyses were used to analyse the data. The study was conducted in 2007.
Findings. The most common symptoms experienced were fatigue, difficulty remembering, sadness, loss

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