Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · May 1996
Comparative StudyConcerns, coping and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients.
This study was conducted to explore the concerns and coping mechanisms used by patients with head and neck cancer and assess their quality of life. A group of 50 consecutive patients with oral and laryngeal cancers were interviewed using a coping and concerns checklist and a semistructured interview proforma to elicit the common concerns in relation to head and neck cancers and their surgical treatment. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to detect anxiety and depression. ⋯ Most subjects had numerous unresolved concerns. Mainly ineffective coping mechanisms such as helplessness and fatalism were employed leading to incomplete resolution. Interventions to minimise these concerns and to handle associated anxiety and depression would improve their quality of life.
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Support Care Cancer · May 1996
The last 3 months of life of cancer patients: medical aspects and role of home-care services in southern Switzerland.
The clinical data on terminal cancer patients who have died since the establishment of a program of collaboration between community services and the cancer center of Canton of Ticino, southern Switzerland, were retrospectively analyzed to describe the characteristics of patients seen and the effect on them of a home-care program coordinated by the cancer center. The home-care program is based on five geographically grouped community-based domiciliary services, with the addition of one nurse responsible for coordination and one physician from the oncology center. Selection criteria for participation in the home-care program are defined. ⋯ Palliative care, provided at home through community-based domiciliary services, is associated with less frequent and shorter hospitalizations in the last 3 months of life. Medical oncology and palliative treatments should be mutually complementary to improve patients care. Cancer centers should be involved in the planning and coordination of supportive-care domiciliary services.
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A cancer diagnosis impacts the entire family unit, but children are especially vulnerable. In the past, families and professionals did not share information or allow for children to express their feelings or to be involved. ⋯ Approaches by disease phase and developmental stage are discussed. Goals include maintaining family stability, preparing children for what may happen, allowing for flexible communication, and preventing serious psychosocial sequelae.