Cancer nursing
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Optimal care for patients with cancer involves the provision of effective physical and psychological care. Nurses are key providers of this care; however, the effectiveness of care is dependent on the nurses' training, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. ⋯ Leaders in cancer care hospital settings need to urgently develop and implement a model of support for their oncology nurses who are attempting to provide psychosocial support to oncology patients.
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Data about health-related quality of life (QOL) after surgical treatment for lung cancer are limited. Such information can be valuable in developing appropriate nursing interventions for follow-up care for survivors. ⋯ Screening for dyspnea, depressed mood, and comorbid illness can identify female survivors at-risk for poorer QOL after surgery.
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The National Cancer Institute estimates that 24% of adults with cancer are parenting children younger than 18 years. When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, this is a major stressor and often creates multiple problems for families. ⋯ Support for parents with cancer on relevant parenting issues should be acknowledged as an important facet of care for oncology nurses, as a mechanism of reducing parental stress and psychological distress for the whole family.
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Victoria Champion used the constructs of the Health Belief Model as the foundation for developing Champion's Health Belief Scales for Mammography Screening (CHBMS). The instrument has been used to collect health beliefs about breast screening behaviors among various ethnic populations but has not been translated, adapted, or psychometrically evaluated in the Hispanic population. ⋯ The Spanish version of the CHBMS can be used by practicing nurses as an instrument to assess health beliefs concerning mammography screening among Spanish-speaking Hispanic women.