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Support Care (support + care)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	100%

Selected Abstracts

Prostate cancer patients' support and psychological care needs: Survey from a non-surgical oncology clinic

PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 8 2003
Kathleen Lintz
While there are numerous uncertainties surrounding prostate cancer's detection and treatment, more research focusing on the psychological needs of prostate patients is required. This study investigated the support and psychological care needs of men with prostate cancer. Patients were approached during urological oncology clinics and asked to complete the: Support Care Needs Survey (SCNS), Support Care Preferences Questionnaire, EORTC QLQ-C30 (Version 3) Measure plus Prostate Module, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Of the 249 patients meeting study entry criteria, there was an 89% response rate resulting in a cohort of 210 patients. The data showed that significant unmet need exists across a number of domains in the areas of psychological and health system/information. The more commonly reported needs were ,fears about cancer spreading (44%),' ,concerns about the worries of those close to you (43%),' and ,changes in sexual feelings (41%).' Half of all patients reported some need in the domain of sexuality, especially men younger than 65 years. Needs were being well met in the domain of patient care and support. A significant number of patients reported having used or desiring support services, such as information about their illness, brochures about services and benefits for patients with cancer (55%), a series of talks by staff members about aspects of prostate cancer (44%), and one-on-one counselling (48%). Quality of life (QoL) was most negatively impacted in those who: were ,65 years old, had been diagnosed within one year, or had metastatic disease. Men ,65 had decreased social functioning, greater pain, increased sleep disturbance, and were more likely to be uncomfortable about being sexually intimate. Patients recently diagnosed had increased fatigue, more frequent urination, greater disturbance of sleep, and were more likely to have hot flushes. Those with advanced disease scored lower on 12 out of 15 QoL categories. PSA level had no effect on QoL or anxiety/depression scores. Men with advanced disease had greater levels of depression and those ,65 years old were more likely to be anxious. Although most men with prostate cancer seem to function quite well, a substantial minority report areas of unmet need that may be targets for improving care. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

MYCaW: an individualised questionnaire for evaluating complementary therapies in cancer support care

FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH, Issue 4 2003
C Paterson
[source]

Dementia and risk: contested territories of everyday life

JOURNAL OF NURSING AND HEALTHCARE OF CHRONIC ILLNE SS: AN INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Charlotte L Clarke DSocSc
clarke cl, keady j, wilkinson h, gibb ce, luce a, cook a & williams l (2010) Journal of Nursing and Healthcare of Chronic Illness 2, 102,112 Dementia and risk: contested territories of everyday life Aims., The project aimed to understand the construction of risk in dementia care from the perspective of the person with dementia, family carers and practitioners with the intention of developing negotiated partnerships in risk management. Background., This paper addresses a gap in the literature by embedding constructions of risk within everyday events and social contexts, and communicates such constructions through the voices of people with dementia, carers and practitioners. Method., This symbolic interactionalist study involved data collection by interview with 55 people with dementia (sometimes twice), and their nominated carer and practitioner. The sample was drawn from three regions of the United Kingdom. Data were collected during 2004. Conclusions., Five ,contested territories' of everyday living with dementia are outlined in this paper: friendships, smoking, going out, domestic arrangements, and occupation and activity. These contested territories are purposeful and allow for sense making, maintenance of self, claiming and relinquishing decision making, and creating purpose(lessness) in people's lives. Relevance to clinical practice., Assessing and managing risk in a way that respects the dynamics and purposes of contested territories will support care that is person centred, and moreover respectful of the relationships that contribute to maintaining the individual's sense of self and purpose. [source]

Traditional Chinese herbal medicines for treatment of liver fibrosis and cancer: from laboratory discovery to clinical evaluation

LIVER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 7 2007
John M. Luk
Abstract Liver disease afflicts over 10% of the world population. This includes chronic hepatitis, alcoholic steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which are the most health-threatening conditions drawing considerable attention from medical professionals and scientists. Patients with alcoholism or viral hepatitis are much more likely to have liver cell damage and cirrhosis, and some may eventually develop HCC, which is unfortunately, and very often, a fatal malignancy without cure. While liver surgery is not suitable in many of the HCC cases, patients are mostly given palliative support cares or transarterial chemoembolization or systemic chemotherapies. However, HCC is well known to be a highly chemoresistant tumour, and the response rate is <10,20%. To this end, alternative medicines are being actively sought from other sources with hopes to halt the disease's progression or even eliminate the tumours. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has begun to gain popularity worldwide for promoting healthcare as well as disease prevention, and been used as conventional or complementary medicines for both treatable and incurable diseases in Asia and the West. In this article, we discuss the laboratory findings and clinical trial studies of Chinese herbal medicines (particularly small molecule compounds) for the treatment of liver disease ranging from fibrosis to liver cancer. [source]