A study conducted by researchers at Breast Cancer Care and the University of Southampton indicates that over a third of female breast cancer patients are in unnecessary discomfort – despite recent advances in medical management of the disease.

The cross-sectional survey was carried out in two cancer centres in the UK and assessed a wide-range of quality of life indicators amongst 235 women with metastatic breast cancer. Over a quarter of the sample reported experiencing shortness of breath (27%) and nausea (26%). Additionally, 34% of participants reported high levels of pain or other uncontrolled symptoms.

Most notably, only 7% of respondents stated that they were being treated by local palliative care services and just 6% by their GP, indicating that there may be an unmet need in terms of access to palliative care amongst the study population.

The study highlights the fact that although palliative care services in the UK are amongst the most extensive in the world, their use is still generally confined to the very end of life and they are often not used alongside curative interventions.