Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Many patients with cancer experience aggressive care towards the end of life (EOL) despite evidence of an association with poor outcomes such as prolonged pain and overall dissatisfaction with care. ⋯ Community health care services, in particular contact with community palliative care, are associated with a significant reduction in the odds of cancer patients receiving aggressive EOL care. Expansion of such services may help address the current capacity crises faced by many acute health care systems.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2016
Patients' experiences and perspectives of multiple concurrent symptoms in advanced cancer: a semi-structured interview study.
Patients with advanced cancer typically experience multiple concurrent symptoms, which have a detrimental impact on patient outcomes. No studies to date have qualitatively explored advanced cancer patients' perceptions of multiple symptoms in oncology and palliative care settings. Understanding the experience of multiple symptoms can inform integrated clinical pathways for treating, assessing and reducing symptom burden. This study aims to describe the beliefs, attitudes and experiences of patients with multiple symptoms in advanced cancer. ⋯ Multiple symptoms have a profound impact on patients' autonomy, function and psychological state. Multiple symptom management and integrated care is needed to empower advanced cancer patients and reduce their struggles with self-management burden, hopelessness, isolation, fear of abandonment and mortality anxieties.
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Support Care Cancer · Mar 2016
Zoledronic acid for treatment of osteopenia and osteoporosis in women with primary breast cancer undergoing adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy: a 5-year follow-up.
This study was designed to explore whether zoledronic acid could prevent expected loss of bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with pre-existing osteopenia or osteoporosis who were initiating adjuvant letrozole therapy for primary breast cancer. ⋯ Zoledronic acid appears to prevent further bone loss in postmenopausal breast cancer patients with osteopenia and osteoporosis starting treatment with letrozole. These findings were maintained at 5 years and support concurrent initiation of bisphosphonate and aromatase inhibitor therapy in this high-risk population.
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Support Care Cancer · Feb 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialImproving psychosocial outcomes for caregivers of people with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancers: a randomized controlled trial (Family Connect).
This study investigated the effectiveness of a structured telephone intervention for caregivers of people diagnosed with poor prognosis gastrointestinal cancer to improve psychosocial outcomes for both caregivers and patients. ⋯ This standardized intervention did not demonstrate any significant improvements in caregiver well-being but did result in a decrease in patient emergency department presentations and unplanned hospital readmissions in the immediate post-discharge period. The trend towards improvements in a number of caregiver outcomes and the improvement in health service utilization support further development of telephone-based caregiver-focused supportive care interventions.
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Support Care Cancer · Feb 2016
Toward structured peer support interventions in oncology: a qualitative insight into the experiences of gynaecological cancer survivors providing peer support.
Research into dyadic (one-to-one) peer support has predominantly focused on the recipients of peer support whilst neglecting the impact on the peer support providers (PSPs). Increasingly, structured/protocolised peer support interventions are employed. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experience of providing peer support within a protocolised intervention and how common key characteristics of such interventions (guidelines and checklists, rigorous training and partnerships with health professionals) may influence PSPs' experiences. This research was conducted within the context of an ongoing randomised controlled trial investigating a protocolised peer support intervention (the Peer and Nurse support Trial to Assist women in Gynaecological Oncology (PeNTAGOn) study). ⋯ These insights into the advantages and disadvantages of protocolised peer support can be used to inform future research and social support programs and maximise the effectiveness of such programs for patients, PSPs and the health-care system.