Breast cancer survivor program: follow-up, rehabilitation, psycho-oncology, palliative care

This recommendation based on recent international guidelines, literature data and our experience deals with the follow-up, complex rehabilitation, palliative and nutritional therapy of breast cancer patients. Practising intensive follow-up is not justified but early detection and curative management of local/regional tumor relapse is still a priority, while special issues (breast cancer risk, pregnancy) must be handled with expertise. Social rehabilitation should be advised by competent social workers. Various diagnostic and therapeutic methods used for physical rehabilitation all along the management of the disease are presented. Detailed recommendations for the diagnosis, pharmacological therapy or alternative management of various psychooncological disorders are provided. A complex nutritional therapy guideline deals with the nutritional status of breast cancer patients, the recommended diet during and following their treatment or the nutrition therapy as a part of palliative care and ethical considerations. The principles of palliative care and its organisation in Hungary are described.