Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Learning What High Quality Compassionate Care Means For Cancer Patients And Translating That Into Practice, Fiona Mckenzie, Katherine Joel, Charlotte Williams, Kathy Pritchard-Jones Professor

Patient Experience Journal

In 2010, UCLPartners, a partnership of health care providers and universities in North Central London, began a collaboration with local commissioners that aimed to think about cancer care and diagnosis differently. Understanding that a good patient experience can only be delivered by putting patients first and working together along their journey from symptoms to recovery, we brought clinical leaders together with patients to think about how to improve outcomes for patients, outside institutional barriers. From the very beginning this new network, an integrated cancer system, focused on understanding what mattered most to patients and organising how it worked and how …

Chess Improves Cancer Caregivers' Burden And Mood: Results Of An Ehealth Rct, Lori L. Dubenske, David H. Gustafson, Kang Namkoong, Robert P. Hawkins, Amy K. Atwood, Roger L. Brown, Ming-Yuan Chih, Fiona Mctavish, Cindy L. Carmack, Mary K. Buss, Ramaswamy Govindan, James F. Cleary

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: Informal caregivers (family and friends) of people with cancer are often unprepared for their caregiving role, leading to increased burden or distress. Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS) is a Web-based lung cancer information, communication, and coaching system for caregivers. This randomized trial reports the impact on caregiver burden, disruptiveness, and mood of providing caregivers access to CHESS versus the Internet with a list of recommended lung cancer websites.

METHODS: A total of 285 informal caregivers of patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer were randomly assigned to a comparison group that received Internet or a treatment group that …

Does Resilience 'Buffer' Against Depression In Prostate Cancer Patients? A Multi-Site Replication Study, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, Addie Wootten, David Christie

Vicki Bitsika

Although psychological resilience has been shown to 'buffer' against depression following major stressors, no studies have reported on this relationship within the prostate cancer (PCa) population, many of whom are at elevated risk of depression, health problems and suicide. To investigate the effects of resilience upon anxiety and depression in the PCa population, postal surveys of 425 PCa patients were collected from two sites: 189 PCa patients at site 1 and 236 at site 2. Background data plus responses to depression and resilience scales were collected. Results indicated that total resilience score was a significant buffer against depression across both …

Individual, Disease, And Work-Related Factors Associated With Work Patterns, Presenteeism And Sick Pay Policy Of The Colorectal Cancer Survivor After Treatment, Kristin A. Roper

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Participation of colorectal cancer survivors (CRC) in the workforce has been described by clinicians, survivors, and researchers as a way to improve mood, quality of life (QOL), and survival. Maintaining self-esteem and financial independence have also been attributed to continued employment of the CRC survivor. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to describe patterns of employment of the CRC survivor and to examine the individual, disease, and work-related factors that influence presenteeism and perceived adequacy of sick pay (ASP) policy. The Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy and the Pathways to Work Life Recovery guided the design, selection …

The Effect Of Patient Education On Anxiety Levels In Patients Receiving Chemotherapy For The First Time, Sarah Garcia

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Cancer affects approximately 1.5 million people every year throughout the United States.Comprehensive care that includes psychosocial aspects is important to help patients effectively adapt to their diagnosis and treatment plan. Improper prevention and management of anxiety can lead to poor psychosocial outcomes, dissatisfaction with care, and decreased adherence to treatment. Current evidence suggests that education is effective at helping reduce anxiety in patients receiving chemotherapy for the first time. The purpose of this evidenced based practice project was to determine if nurse-led patient education regarding chemotherapy side effects, side-effect management, and orientation to the infusion center was effective at decreasing …

The Work Of Living With A Rare Cancer: Multiple Myeloma, Moira Stephens, Heather Mckenzie, Christopher Jordens

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aim To report findings from a qualitative study of the experiences of long-term survivors of multiple myeloma. Background Multiple Myeloma is a malignant disease of the bone marrow. Until recently, it was rapidly fatal. Although it remains incurable, people diagnosed with it are living longer on average, largely due to new treatments, some of which have onerous side effects. Design Prospective descriptive study. Method A series of 47 in-depth interviews were conducted at 6-12 month intervals over 18 months in 2008-2010 with 10 long-term survivors of myeloma and their primary support person. Interviews were analysed using the constant comparative method …

Anthropogenic Selection Enhances Cancer Evolution In Tasmanian Devil Tumours, Beata Ujvari, Anne-Maree Pearse, Kate Swift, Pamela Hodson, Bobby Hua, Stephen Pyecroft, Robyn Taylor, Rodrigo Hamede, Menna Jones, Katherine Belov, Thomas Madsen

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) provides a unique opportunity to elucidate the long-term effects of natural and anthropogenic selection on cancer evolution. Since first observed in 1996, this transmissible cancer has caused local population declines by >90%. So far, four chromosomal DFTD variants (strains) have been described and karyotypic analyses of 253 tumours showed higher levels of tetraploidy in the oldest strain. We propose that increased ploidy in the oldest strain may have evolved in response to effects of genomic decay observed in asexually reproducing organisms. In this study, we focus on the evolutionary response of DFTD to …

Spontaneous/Radical Remission Of Cancer: Transpersonal Results From A Grounded Theory Study, Kelly A. Turner

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This grounded theory study aimed to collect hypotheses for spontaneous or radical remission (RR) of cancer, which is a remission that occurs without medical treatment, or with medical treatment considered inadequate to produce the remission. Interviews were conducted with 20 RR survivors and 50 non-conventional healers from 11 countries. Results showed that three underlying beliefs emerged: 1. Cancer thrives under certain conditions; 2. Illness represents blockage; and 3. A body-mind-spirit interaction exists. Six factors believed to be possible causes of RR also emerged: 1. Diet change; 2. Deepening spirituality; 3. Increasing happiness; 4. Releasing suppressed emotions; 5. Taking supplements; and …

Stress Management For Cancer Survivors Using A Technologically Adapted Psychosocial Intervention: A Randomized Trial Determining The Effect Of Expressive Writing On Psychoneuroimmunology Based Outcomes, Utkarsh B. Subnis

Theses and Dissertations

Patients with cancer transitioning from completing their final cancer treatments to survivorship are particularly at risk for experiencing psychosocial stress, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has referred to these cancer patients as “lost in transition.” In this study, patients with cancer in their transition phase after completing their final radiation treatment were defined as cancer survivors (CS). CS must deal with chronic stressors such as the fear of cancer recurrence as well as the resumption of their roles in their family and work lives. Chronic stress impacts the nervous system and increases secretion of stress hormones (e.g. cortisol) from …

Role Of Physical Exercise In Reducing Depression And Improving Mental Health In Cancer Survivors, Gregory Levin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Cancer survivors are more than twice as likely as the general population to suffer the debilitating effects of depression. This comorbid condition is associated with several negative consequences, such as reduction in compliance with cancer treatments, and hastened mortality. Recent research has examined the therapeutic effect of exercise on depression and reported excellent results of similar magnitude to those achieved with pharmacotherapy or psychological intervention. However, no research, to date, has examined the effectiveness of exercise on reducing depression in depressed cancer survivors. In order to address this important question this thesis reviewed previous literature in the area of cancer …