EDUCATIONAL APPROACH OF NURSES FOR THE PREVENTION OF LYMPHEDEMA AFTER BREAST CANCER SURGERY

Mostly seen complication of surgical treatment for breast cancer is lymphedema and at least one of the 4 woman is aff ected.. The most important factor in the prevention of lymphedema is the education of the patient and their family. The study is carried out as a descriptive research for the determination of which suggestions are given and which subjects are paid attension by the nurses who're related with the patient care and education. The study is formed by the nurses who were working in the surgery unit of the university hospital. 46 nurses were taken in the study group. A questionare which is composed of 22 questions and formed by the researchers depending on the literature studies is used for the study. Received data is evaluated as percentage. According to the results of the study, it is determined that 65.2% of the nurses are studying in the same department, for 10 years, 89.1% of the nurses give education about lymphedema and 82.9% of the nurses give this education after the surgery. Education is mostly given about the avoidance of blood pressure checks, injection or blood drawing from the aff ected arm. It is found that least education is given about wearing gloves for housework and gardening, avoidance of excessive heat on eff ected arm and becoming overweight. As a result it is thought that breast cancer patients do not receive comprehensive information about the prevention and risks of lymphedema and educational strategies for patients and nurses need to be developed and implemented.