Psycho-oncology
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The aim of this study was to assess the levels and sources of distress in patients with lymphoma. This study also focused on the influence of factors of the level of distress and the cutoff score using the Distress Thermometer (DT) relative to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). ⋯ DT is efficacious for screening for anxiety and depression in lymphoma patients.
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This systematic review aimed to evaluate the level of evidence of contemporary peer-reviewed literature published from 2004 to 2011 on the psychosocial impact of lymphedema. ⋯ Lymphedema has a negative psychosocial impact on affected individuals. The current review sheds light on the conceptualization and operationalization of the definitions of psychosocial impact with respect to lymphedema. Development of a lymphedema-specific instrument is needed to better characterize the impact of lymphedema and to examine the factors contributing to these outcomes in cancer and non-cancer-related populations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot randomized controlled trial of a brief early intervention for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depressive symptoms in newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients have a high incidence of cancer-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety and depressive disorders. We report the results from the first pilot randomized controlled trial in which the efficacy of an early cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program was compared with a non-directive supportive counseling (SC) intervention in reducing PTSD, general anxiety and depressive symptoms, and improving perceived quality of life in newly diagnosed, distressed HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy. ⋯ Findings indicate that the early provision of psychotherapy has utility in reducing PTSD, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and preventing chronic psychopathology in distressed HNC patients.
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Pain/distress during pediatric cancer treatments has substantial psychosocial consequences for children and families. We examined relationships between parents' caregiving self-efficacy, parents' affect in response to their children's cancer-related treatment procedures, and parents' symptoms of post-traumatic stress at follow-up. ⋯ Parents' caregiving self-efficacy influences their immediate and longer-term distress reactions to their children's treatment procedures. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how parents' cognitions contribute to their ability to cope with their children's treatment and suggest the benefit of an intervention that targets parents' procedure-specific caregiver self-efficacy.
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This study examined how language reflective of emotional and social processes during a cancer-related discussion relates to patient, couple, and family adjustment after breast cancer. It investigated whether emotional expression or relational focus, manifested in language use, indicates healthy family coping following breast cancer. ⋯ Important information about how a family copes with breast cancer can be obtained by attending to families' emotional and relational language. This study suggests that clinicians and members of families' support networks can gauge how well a family has adapted after the breast cancer experience by attending to the type of words that each family member uses to describe how they coped with breast cancer.