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Many Cancer Survivors (many + cancer_survivor)
Selected AbstractsThe development and evaluation of a measure to assess cancer survivors' unmet supportive care needs: the CaSUN (Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs measure)PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 9 2007K. Hodgkinson Abstract Background: Many cancer survivors experience ongoing morbidity over the survivorship continuum and their supportive care needs have yet to be comprehensively assessed. Methods: This study aimed to develop and empirically evaluate a self-report measure of cancer survivors' supportive care needs. In Phase I, questionnaire items were generated based upon previous qualitative research that identified both unique and shared needs in survivors and their partners; items were constructed into the Cancer Survivors' Unmet Needs measure (CaSUN). In Phase 2, the CaSUN was completed by 353 cancer survivors who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1 and 15 years earlier and were currently disease-free. Results: After modification, the CaSUN included 35 unmet need items, 6 positive change items and an open-ended question. Good acceptability, internal consistency and validity were demonstrated, although test,retest reliability was low. Maximum likelihood factor analysis identified five discrete factors: Existential Survivorship, Comprehensive Care, Information, Quality of Life and Relationships. Conclusions: Preliminary data indicates that the CaSUN meets the majority of psychometric criteria for assessment measures, although its low test,retest reliability awaits further investigation. The CaSUN will facilitate the evaluation of supportive care services and generation of service delivery recommendations for cancer survivors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Physical and psychological long-term and late effects of cancer,CANCER, Issue S11 2008Kevin D. Stein PhD Abstract The number of long-term cancer survivors (,5 years after diagnosis) in the U.S. continues to rise, with more than 10 million Americans now living with a history of cancer. Along with such growth has come increasing attention to the continued health problems and needs of this population. Many cancer survivors return to normal functioning after the completion of treatment and are able to live relatively symptom-free lives. However, cancer and its treatment can also result in a wide range of physical and psychological problems that do not recede with time. Some of these problems emerge during or after cancer treatment and persist in a chronic, long-term manner. Other problems may not appear until months or even years later. Regardless of when they present, long-term and late effects of cancer can have a negative effect on cancer survivors' quality of life. This article describes the physical and psychological long-term and late effects among adult survivors of pediatric and adult cancers. The focus is on the prevalence and correlates of long-term and late effects as well as the associated deficits in physical and emotional functioning. In addition, the emergence of public health initiatives and large-scale research activities that address the issues of long-term cancer survivorship are discussed. Although additional research is needed to fully understand and document the long-term and late effects of cancer, important lessons can be learned from existing knowledge. Increased awareness of these issues is a key component in the development of follow-up care plans that may allow for adequate surveillance, prevention, and the management of long-term and late effects of cancer. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society. [source] Fertility treatment in male cancer survivorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 4 2007Kirsten Louise Tryde Schmidt Summary The present study reviews the use of assisted reproductive technology in male cancer survivors and their partners. As antineoplastic treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, has the potential of inducing impairment of spermatogenesis through damage of the germinal epithelium, many male cancer survivors experience difficulties in impregnating their partners after treatment. The impairment can be temporary or permanent. While many cancer survivors regain spermatogenesis months to years after treatment, some become infertile with a-, oligo- or azoospermia. An option to secure the fertility potential of young cancer patients is to cryopreserve semen before cancer treatment for later use. A desired pregnancy may be obtained in couples where the husband has a history of cancer, using assisted reproductive technology with either fresh or cryopreserved/thawed semen. Successful outcomes have been obtained with intrauterine insemination (IUI) as well as in vitro fertilization (IVF) with or without the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In conclusion, male cancer survivors and their partners who have failed to obtain a pregnancy naturally within a reasonable time frame after end of treatment should be referred to a fertility clinic. [source] Recognizing health risks in childhood cancer survivorsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 3 2005Mary Baron Nelson MS Purpose To provide information about the special health needs of childhood cancer survivors through a discussion of Wilms' tumor, a common childhood renal tumor, and case studies of two survivors of Wilms' tumor, who encountered significant health problems as adults. This information may be generalized to many cancer survivors. Data sources Actual case studies as well as extensive review of the current literature on childhood cancer survivorship. Conclusions Adult healthcare practitioners may help to decrease morbidity of childhood cancer survivors in adulthood when they are knowledgeable about the risks of this population. Resources are readily available, both in the medical literature and on the Internet. Implications for practice With well-established success in the treatment of childhood cancer, there are many young and middle-aged adult survivors of the disease. However, as many as two-thirds of survivors may have chronic long-term effects of treatment. Most survivors eventually discontinue follow-up with their pediatric oncologists and receive primary health care from adult providers, many of whom are unaware of survivors' health risks. Awareness of primary care providers regarding the special health needs of childhood cancer survivors is critical to decrease morbidity and improve quality of life. The ever-increasing number of childhood cancer survivors is creating a public health issue as they transition into adulthood. [source] Religious and Non-Religious Pathways to Stress-Related Growth in Cancer SurvivorsAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, Issue 3 2009Crystal L. Park While religiousness and spirituality are important to many cancer survivors, relations of religiousness and spirituality with the stress-related growth commonly reported by survivors have not been well documented. In the present study, we examined the linkages between personal religiousness, religious control appraisals for the cancer, and religious coping with subsequent stress-related growth, and compared them with a parallel secular pathway, hope, self-control appraisals, and active coping. In all, 172 young to middle-aged adult survivors (113 women, 59 men, mean age = 45 years) of a variety of types of cancer who had been diagnosed approximately 2.5 years prior were assessed twice across a 1-year period. A structural equation model indicated that while both pathways predicted stress-related growth, the religious pathway was a much stronger predictor of subsequent stress-related growth than was the secular pathway. We suggest that more attention should be given to the influence of multiple dimensions of religiousness and spirituality on growth to better understand the transformative processes reported by many survivors. [source] Clinical practice guidelines for the psychosocial care of cancer survivors,,§CANCER, Issue S18 2009Current status, future prospects Abstract Upon completion of their primary treatment, many cancer survivors become "lost in transition," and receive inadequate or, at best, poorly coordinated follow-up care. Unmet psychosocial and educational needs figure prominently among the concerns identified by survivors of adult-onset cancers in the post-treatment period. This article focuses on the role clinical practice guidelines could play in improving the quality of psychosocial care provided to these post-treatment survivors. After defining clinical practice guidelines and describing their development, the article provides an overview of existing clinical practice guidelines for the psychosocial care of cancer patients and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. A major weakness relevant to this article is that none of the existing guidelines focus on the post-treatment period. Two recent efforts in the field of cancer survivorship are identified that should stimulate and inform the development of guidelines for psychosocial care in the post-treatment period. One effort is the growing movement to implement survivorship care planning at the end of primary treatment. Assessing and addressing unmet and anticipated psychosocial needs have been identified as major components of survivorship care planning. The other effort is the release by the Children's Oncology Group of Long-term Follow-up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers. These guidelines provide a useful model of how guidelines for the psychosocial care of survivors of adult-onset cancers might be developed, organized, and implemented. Cancer 2009;115(18 suppl):4419,29. © 2009 American Cancer Society. [source] | ||||||||||