Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized controlled trial of standardized education and telemonitoring for pain in outpatients with advanced solid tumors.
Previous studies have not defined the role of telemonitoring with educational tools in outpatients with advanced cancers. We tested the effectiveness of standardized education and telemonitoring for improving pain, distress, anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL), and performance in outpatients with advanced cancers. ⋯ Standardized pain education using nursing specialists is an efficient way to improve not only pain itself but also anxiety, depression, performance, and QoL. The addition of telemonitoring helps to improve pain management in the outpatient setting.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Predictive factors for overall quality of life in patients with advanced cancer.
This study examined which domains/symptoms from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative (QLQ-C15-PAL), an abbreviated version of the health-related EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire designed for palliative cancer patients, were predictive of overall quality of life (QOL) in advanced cancer patients. ⋯ Deterioration of certain EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL functional/symptom scores significantly contributes to worse overall QOL. Special attention should be directed to managing factors most influential on overall QOL to ensure optimal management of advanced cancer patients.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Palliative care needs, symptoms, and treatment intensity along the disease trajectory in medical oncology outpatients: a retrospective chart review.
Early integration of palliative care into cancer disease management is beneficial for patients with advanced tumors. However, little is known about the association of palliative care interventions with symptom burden and treatment aggressiveness at the end of life (EoL). ⋯ Most cancer patients receive aggressive EoL care interfering with quality of life. Despite limitations by small sample size and missing data, the results suggest that palliative care utilization is associated with reduced symptom burden and intensity of treatment at the EoL. Timely discussion of EoL issues may reduce the number of unnecessary interventions and facilitate referral to the PCU.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Occupational therapy needs of patients with thoracic cancer at the time of diagnosis: findings of a dedicated rehabilitation service.
Guidelines recommend screening patients with cancer to identify their rehabilitation needs. To help quantify this area of need and associated workload from an occupational therapy perspective in patients with thoracic cancer, we report the experiences of a dedicated rehabilitation service. ⋯ About half of patients with thoracic cancer screened have occupational therapy needs around the time of diagnosis. Problems are mostly in the area of self-care, with equipment provision the most frequent intervention provided. Future work should examine the efficacy of occupational therapy interventions further.