Unmet Supportive Care Needs in Bladder Cancer Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy

Nowadays, high-quality cancer care is more than just diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Healthcare must respond to the specific needs of the patients to provide patient-centered care. To date, research on the unmet supportive care needs in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy is scarce. Because the needs of the patients may differ according to the phase in the illness trajectory, it is important that prospective research is carried out. Research in other cancer populations shows that unmet supportive care needs are negatively associated with health-related quality of life, psychological distress, physical activity and the health literacy of the patient. By incorporating the above factors into this study, we can not only map the unmet supportive care needs of the patient, but also explore possible associations between the variables. Since this is the first prospective study on supportive care needs in bladder cancer, this is a hypothesis-generating study.