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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Breathlessness is a common and distressing symptom in people with advanced cancer of all etiologies, often co-existing with cough and fatigue. Its incidence and severity increase as death approaches. Growing evidence suggests that non-pharmacological interventions, delivered as a complex intervention, can increase quality of life of those living with cancer-related breathlessness, and those closest to them. It is clear that these evidence-based treatments are not yet consistently available to patients and families, leading to significant avoidable suffering.
Breathlessness interventions may not always reduce the absolute level of the symptom. They may reduce the individual’s awareness of their breathlessness, or increase self-efficacy or knowledge of how to manage it, i.e. they have an effect on its central perception.
Areas covered: This review outlines the currently known evidence for specific non-pharmacological interventions that can ameliorate the impact of breathlessness in people with cancer. There is an indication of how they affect quality of life and other contextual factors that need to be addressed to give the best symptom control possible.
Expert commentary: Future areas for research are outlined and a reflection on the words non-pharmacological to nominate such a crucial group of interventions. The term drug-free may make these interventions more acceptable to patients and clinicians.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organisation or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
Supplementary data
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here