Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Just A “Click” Away From Evidence-Based Online Breast Cancer Information, Advice And Support Provided By A Specialist Nurse: An Ethnonetnographic Study, Cynthia Ann Witney

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Breast cancer has had, and will continue to have, a devastating impact on the lives of many Australian women, their families, friends and the wider community. The concomitant treatment of this disease places a considerable burden on the health care system and the supporters of the person diagnosed with this disease. While there are many government and non-government organisations that provide treatment and support services for the person with breast cancer, these services are usually provided in person either in the home or at the organisation’s offices. This study extended the information advice and support aspects of these services to …

Saying ‘No’: A Biographical Analysis Of The Experiences Of Women With A Genetic Predisposition To Developing Breast/Ovarian Cancer Who Reject Risk Reducing Surgery, Doreen Molloy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Genetic technologies have identified some of the genes implicated in cancer susceptibility. Women with mutations in breast/ovarian cancer-susceptibility genes (BRCA1 and 2) have a lifetime combined risk of breast/ovarian cancer of more than 80%. Risk reducing surgery (RRS) reduces cancer risk by as much as 90% in high risk populations. Despite this, some BRCA1/2 mutation-positive women say no to RRS.

Purpose: To illuminate an understanding of why women at high risk of developing breast/ovarian cancer say no to risk reducing surgery (RRS).

Design: Denzin’s (1989) interpretive biography was combined with Dolby-Stahl’s (1985) literary folkloristic methodology to provide a contextualised …

Heat Stress: A Risk Factor For Skin Carcinogenesis, Leslie Calapre

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

BACKGROUND: The incidence of skin cancer in Australia has increased rapidly in the last few decades. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is a major risk factor for skin carcinogenesis. UV, particularly the UVB spectrum, causes formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in cellular DNA. Persistent and incorrectly repaired CPDs lead to DNA mutations and consequently, formation of cutaneous lesions. Interestingly, recent epidemiological studies have shown a significant increase in skin cancer incidence in geographical locations with high environmental temperatures. Thus, heat stress may potentiate the effects of UV exposure and act as an additional risk factor for skin cancer. Previous studies …