Cluster Care Model: Optimizing Patient Outcomes in Post-Surgical Breast Cancer Radiotherapy

Postoperative radiotherapy for breast cancer (BC) often leads to complications such as skin injury, pain, and psychological distress. Ultimately, the quality of life of the patient is compromised. Structured nursing interventions are designed to mitigate these effects and support recovery. A total of 76 patients undergoing BC postoperative radiotherapy between January 2023 and September 2024 were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either conventional nursing interventions (n = 38) or cluster nursing (n = 38. The protocol included systematic education on skin care, continuous monitoring of radiation-induced skin changes, pain assessment and management using the visual analog scale (VAS), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and self-rating depression scale (SDS). The health survey short form (SF-36) was used to evaluate patients' quality of life, and the nutritional status and nursing satisfaction of the two groups were statistically analyzed. After nursing intervention, the severity grading of radiological skin injury was reduced in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The scores, including VAS, SAS, and SDS, were lower in the test population (P < 0.05). In this population, nutritional status improved. A higher SF-36 score indicated better quality of life in the intervention group (P < 0.05). The structured cluster care approach effectively regulates the psychological condition of post-BC patients. It also improves the dietary intake ability of patients and their quality of life.