Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2016
Evaluating the impact of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms (CIPN-sx) on perceived ability to work in breast cancer survivors during the first year post-treatment.
To describe the impact of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms (CIPN-sx) on breast cancer survivors' (BCS) perceived ability to work post-treatment. ⋯ Unresolved CIPN-sx may play a role in challenges working for BCS post-treatment. These findings highlight the need for research to explore the impact that CIPN-sx have on BCS' ability to work, as well as the development of interventions to improve work function in BCS with CIPN-sx.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2016
Quality of life-related outcomes from a patient-tailored integrative medicine program: experience of Russian-speaking patients with cancer in Israel.
Complementary/integrative medicine (CIM) is increasingly being integrated with standard supportive cancer care. The effects of CIM on quality of life (QOL) during chemotherapy need to be examined in varied socio-cultural settings. We purpose to explore the impact of CIM on QOL-related outcomes among Russian-speaking (RS) patients with cancer. ⋯ A patient-tailored CIM treatment program may improve QOL-related outcomes among RS patients undergoing chemotherapy. Integrating CIM in conventional supportive care needs to address cross-cultural aspects of care.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2016
Multicenter StudyBarriers and facilitators in coping with patient death in clinical oncology.
The purpose of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators in coping with patient death in the oncology context. ⋯ Oncologists turn to a number of diverse coping strategies in dealing with patient death, but many obstacles to accessing this support were reported. Targeted interventions for managing and coping with grief related to patient death need to be developed to support oncologists in their emotionally difficult work.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2016
The association between patient's and partner's fatigue in couples coping with colorectal cancer: a longitudinal study.
Couples coping with colorectal cancer were monitored during the first year after diagnosis to evaluate the following: (i) levels of patients' and partners' fatigue-hereby comparing their scores to each other and a normative population, (ii) association between patients' and partners' fatigue, (iii) the course of partners' fatigue, and (iv) biopsychosocial predictors of the partners' fatigue, including the patients' level of fatigue. ⋯ Trait anxiety, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms predicted higher levels of partners' fatigue, while demographic factors, patients' fatigue, and clinical factors did not. Health professionals are advised to be alert for partners with a vulnerable personality and depressive symptoms. If needed, they can for instance refer to a psychologist for treatment.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2016
Engaging stakeholders to improve presentation of patient-reported outcomes data in clinical practice.
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can promote patient-centered care, but previous research has documented interpretation challenges among clinicians and patients. We engaged stakeholders to improve formats for presenting individual-level PRO data (for patient monitoring) and group-level PRO data (for reporting comparative clinical studies). ⋯ Variations in interpretation accuracy demonstrate the importance of presenting PRO data in ways that promote understanding and use. In an iterative stakeholder-driven process, we developed improved PRO data presentation formats, which will be evaluated in further research across a large population of patients and clinicians.