Cancer nursing
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The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between pain and the desire for hastened death in terminally ill cancer patients. The participants were 120 terminally ill cancer patients under palliative treatment from June 2003 to November 2004. Patients completed a pain assessment tool, the Greek Brief Pain Inventory (G-BPI), and a self-report measure of the desire for hastened death, the Greek Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death (G-SAHD). ⋯ According to the enter model, the strongest predictors of hastened death were items G-BPI6, "current pain"; G-BPI8, "relief provided by pain treatment and medications in the last 24 hours"; G-BPI9i, "interference of pain in general activity"; and G-BPI9iii, "interference of pain in walking." According to the forward model, significant predictors of the desire for death were items G-BPI5, "average pain in the last 24 hours"; G-BPI6, "current pain"; G-BPI9i, "interference of pain in general activity"; and G-BPI9ii, "interference of pain in mood," all of which were statistically significant (P = .000-.042). Pain appeared to have a statistically significant relationship with the desire for hastened death. Effective treatment by healthcare professionals should be provided to reduce pain and cancer-related symptoms as well as the desire for hastened death.
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The objective of the study was to describe the quality of life (QOL) and coping style of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients after hospitalization and to explore the relationship between coping style and health-related QOL of NPC patients. A descriptive correlational design was used in this study. Ninety-eight NPC patients were investigated by a convenient sampling method. ⋯ Positive emotion-focused coping styles were positively correlated to QOL, and negative emotion-focused ones negatively correlated. Problem-focused coping styles were not statistically correlated to QOL among NPC patients posttherapy. The findings of this study suggest that nurses need to pay attention to the QOL of NPC patients posttherapy, including appropriate education to minimize ongoing adverse effects and support the use of effective coping styles.
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The purpose of this exploratory, secondary analysis was to compare the prevalence of symptoms attributable to breast cancer or its treatment and to identify and describe symptom clusters across 3 phases of the disease. A pooled analysis was conducted by combining existing symptom data collected at the baseline assessment from 3 independent studies of women with breast cancer. Study I had 40 women with early-stage breast cancer following primary surgery for their disease and prior to the initiation of adjuvant therapy. ⋯ Three symptom clusters were identified corresponding to 3 different phases of the breast cancer experience. Each cluster was composed of symptoms related to fatigue, perceived cognitive impairment, and mood problems. Future studies are needed to prospectively examine whether these symptoms cluster across 3 phases of breast cancer and the effect of these clusters on the functional ability and quality of life in women with breast cancer.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Quality of life 5 or more years post-autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
This cross-sectional study used a mailed survey to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of individuals at least 5 years post-autologous stem cell transplant and to determine instrument preference. Instruments selected were the Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form (MOS-SF-36) as the generic measure and the City of Hope-Quality of Life-Bone Marrow Transplant (COH-BMT) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT) as transplant-specific measures. Subjects received the MOS-SF-36 and were randomized to receive (1) COH-BMT, (2) FACT-BMT, or (3) COH-BMT and FACT-BMT. ⋯ FACT-BMT results compared with those reported by McQuellen et al (Bone Marrow Transplant. 1997;19:357-368) showed that Physical, Social/Family, Emotional, and Functional Scores were similar; only BMT scores were significantly different. Research is needed to determine when QOL plateaus and whether instrument preference changes over time. Awareness of long-term effects that affect QOL can guide program revisions and facilitate decisions regarding the need for supportive rehabilitative services.
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Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is managed in different ways in clinical practice. Chemotherapy dose reductions and delays are used more often than proactive, first-cycle use of colony-stimulating factors, but such dose modifications can result in suboptimal treatment outcomes. This article reviews how 3 oncology practices have used practice pattern studies to assess and improve their quality of care, particularly in the management of neutropenia. ⋯ These differences were both clinically and statistically significant. Clinical experience shows that nurses are well positioned to assess which patients may be at the greatest risk for neutropenia and its complications and therefore should be treated with colony-stimulating factors. Practice guidelines for the use of colony-stimulating factors are being developed, but broader acceptance of these guidelines is needed to support nurses' recommendations.