Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · May 2012
Fatigue in advanced cancer patients attending an outpatient palliative radiotherapy clinic as screened by the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System.
Advanced cancer patients present with a variety of physical and psychological symptoms. Fatigue is one such symptom which reduces overall quality of life and is difficult to manage. The purpose of this study was to report the presence, severity, and correlating factors of fatigue in advanced cancer patients attending an outpatient palliative radiotherapy clinic. ⋯ Moderate fatigue was reported in over 66% of our advanced cancer patients prior to radiotherapy. Since radiotherapy inherently causes fatigue, proactive and multidisciplinary management is required for these patients. Similar rates of fatigue severity, in lengthier, fatigue-specific tools, suggest that the ESAS may be a good tool for screening the advanced cancer population.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2012
Voice analysis during bad news discussion in oncology: reduced pitch, decreased speaking rate, and nonverbal communication of empathy.
This study was designed to determine if differences exist in the speaking rate and pitch of healthcare providers when discussing bad news versus neutral topics, and to assess listeners' ability to perceive voice differences in the absence of speech content. ⋯ These results suggest that simultaneous assessment of verbal content and multiparameter prosodic analysis of speech is necessary for a more thorough understanding of the expression and perception of empathy. This information has the potential to contribute to the enhancement of communication training design and of oncologists' communication effectiveness.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2012
Family member perspectives of deceased relatives' end-of-life options on admission to a palliative care unit in Japan.
Our goal was to better facilitate the desire of terminally ill patients to die in a favorite place, which may not always be the case for patients admitted to palliative care units. Our aims were to assess the perspectives of bereaved family members about (1) available and preferred places of care when their ill loved one was admitted to a palliative care unit and (2) why patients preferred to live at home but could not. ⋯ Seventy-three percent of terminally ill cancer patients admitted to palliative care units had no other options for care. Improving outpatient treatment at palliative care units and establishing a palliative care system in patients' homes would greatly benefit patients and their families.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2012
ReviewDevelopment of cancer needs questionnaire for parents and carers of adolescents and young adults with cancer.
In order to improve the service delivery for the parents and carers of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, it is important to develop measures which assess the specific issues and concerns faced by this group. The aims of this study were to describe the development and acceptability of a measure of unmet needs of parents and carers of AYA cancer survivors and to assess the prevalence of unmet needs among the respondents. ⋯ The questionnaire developed has demonstrable face and content validity and acceptability. Unmet needs are prevalent among parents and carers of AYA cancer survivors, suggesting the need for further psychometric testing of the measure.
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Support Care Cancer · May 2012
Comparative StudyComparative clinical effectiveness of various 5-HT3 RA antiemetic regimens on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting associated with hospital and emergency department visits in real world practice.
The aim of this study was to compare the risk of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) events for various 5-HT(3) RAs in patients who received moderately (MEC) or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) by evaluating hospital or emergency department (ED) admissions. ⋯ Patients with lung or breast cancer receiving MEC or HEC had significantly lower risk of CINV events associated with hospital/ED admissions if initiated and maintained on palonosetron relative to patients receiving 5-HT(3) RA regimens.