Cancer nursing
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Effect of acupressure on nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy cycle for Korean postoperative stomach cancer patients.
Despite the development of effective antiemetic drugs, nausea and vomiting remain the main side effects associated with cancer chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of acupressure on emesis control in postoperative gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Forty postoperative gastric cancer patients receiving the first cycle of chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil were divided into control and intervention groups (n = 20 each). ⋯ Both groups received equally frequent nursing visits and consultations, and reported nausea and vomiting using Rhode's Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching. We found significant differences between intervention and control groups in the severity of nausea and vomiting, the duration of nausea, and frequency of vomiting. This study suggests that acupressure on P6 point appears to be an effective adjunct maneuver in the course of emesis control.
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Patients' end-of-life decisions challenge nurses to improve palliative care, symptom management, and patient advocacy, and examine ethical issues. When terminally ill patients take charge of the last stages of life, they may challenge nurses to reexamine attitudes about lifesaving technology and autonomy and values about preserving life. Staff members can become benevolent and believe that they know what is best despite the patient's independent decisions. ⋯ Medical and psychological symptoms and spiritual distress often trigger thoughts of hastening death even when pain and symptoms have been treated (Breitbart WS et al. JAMA. 2000;284:2907-2911). Ethical issues and guidelines for management of patients and evaluation of rationality are presented.
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Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Turkish women, and the use of breast self-examination (BSE) and mammography remains low in Turkey. Therefore, we need to identify the beliefs, influencing BSE and mammography, and a valid and reliable tool to measure constructs. The Champion's health belief model scale (CHBMS) is a valid and reliable tool to measure beliefs about breast cancer, BSE, and mammography in an English culture. ⋯ The Turkish version of the CHBMS showed adequate reliability and validity for use in Turkish women. It could easily be used to evaluate the health beliefs about breast cancer, BSE, and mammography. Further refinement is required to study Turkish women's health beliefs and breast cancer screening behaviors in various settings.