European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Results of a randomized controlled pilot study of a self-management intervention for cancer pain.
This paper reports findings from a randomized controlled pilot study evaluating the PRO-SELF Plus Pain Control Program, a U.S.-developed cancer pain self-management intervention, regarding feasibility and effect sizes in a German patient sample. ⋯ NCT00920504.
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Comparative Study
Cytokine gene variation is associated with depressive symptom trajectories in oncology patients and family caregivers.
Depressive symptoms are common in cancer patients and their family caregivers (FCs). While these symptoms are characterized by substantial interindividual variability, the factors that predict this variability remain largely unknown. This study sought to confirm latent classes of oncology patients and FCs with distinct depressive symptom trajectories and to examine differences in phenotypic and genotypic characteristics among these classes. ⋯ Findings confirm the four latent classes of depressive symptom trajectories previously identified in a sample of breast cancer patients. Variations in cytokine genes may influence variability in depressive symptom trajectories.
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The effect of alopecia on men and women has not been fully documented in the literature, especially for Turkish cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of chemotherapy-related alopecia and how it affects the body image and quality of life of Turkish male and female cancer patients, in order to identify variables that may be important in the perception of this problem. ⋯ This study contributes new knowledge on the cultural characteristics of Turkish patients, which may assist other researchers working with different international populations. Alopecia is a difficult side effect for both men and women. Health professionals should assess and educate patients differently from the current standard.
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Since chemotherapy has largely become an outpatient treatment, adequate self-management is of great importance. Available instruments focus exclusively on dealing with side effects. However, self-care during chemotherapy not only concerns symptom self-management. The aim of this study was to develop a valid instrument to assess patient self-care during chemotherapy. ⋯ The L-PaSC demonstrated good content validity and psychometric properties. The L-PaSC can be applied in research and clinical practice for evaluating patient self-care during chemotherapy.