ABSTRACT
Breathlessness (dyspnoea) has been defined as an ‘uncomfortable awareness of breathing’.1
Breathlessness is a common symptom in patients with advanced cancer, with the prevalence reported to increase from referral to specialist palliative care services (15-55.5 per cent) to the last week of life (18-79 per cent).2 In one study, a quarter of patients rated their breathlessness as ‘horrible’ or ‘severe’ in the last week of life.3 Breathlessness is more common in patients with lung cancer and has been reported to be associated with shorter survival.3 Patients with advanced nonmalignant conditions such as respiratory and cardiac failure and motor neurone disease also experience disabling breathlessness.
