Survivorship Perspectives and Advocacy

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (32) ◽  
pp. 5154-5159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Hoffman ◽  
Ellen Stovall

From the moment of diagnosis, a cancer survivor faces serious life-altering decisions. Survivors who are informed about their options and who feel they have personal control over decision making generally perceive a higher quality of life than those who feel less informed and less in control. Health care providers are in a unique position to define a survivor's cancer care and to guide a survivor through treatment and post-treatment care. By implementing survivorship care plans and directing their patients to survivorship resources, health care providers can advocate for survivors and teach them to be effective self-advocates.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 989-993
Author(s):  
Andrew Thomas ◽  
Annie Thomas

Acute and chronic digestive diseases are causing increased burden to patients and are increasing the United States health care spending. The purpose of this case report was to present how nonconfirmatory and conflicting diagnoses led to increased burden and suffering for a patient thus affecting quality of life. There were many physician visits and multiple tests performed on the patient. However, the primary care physician and specialists could not reach a confirmatory diagnosis. The treatment plans did not offer relief of symptoms, and the patient continues to experience digestive symptoms, enduring this burden for over 2 years. The central theme of this paper is to inform health care providers the importance of utilizing evidence-based primary care specialist collaboration models for better digestive disease outcomes. Consistent with patient’s experience, the authors propose to pilot/adopt the integrative health care approaches that are proven effective for treating digestive diseases.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. MacDonald ◽  
T. Crosbie ◽  
A. Christofides ◽  
W. Assaily ◽  
J. Wiernikowski

Rituximab is widely used for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, being a key component in most therapeutic regimens. Administration of the intravenous (IV) formulation is lengthy and places a significant burden on health care resources and patient quality of life. A subcutaneous (sc) formulation that provides a fixed dose of rituximab is being examined in a number of studies. Results indicate that the pharmacokinetics are noninferior and response rates are comparable to those obtained with the IV formulation. Moreover, the sc formulation is preferred by patients and health care providers and reduces administration and chair time. Additional advantages include a lesser potential for dosing errors, shorter preparation time, reduced drug wastage, and fewer infusion-related reactions. Despite the success of the sc formulation, correct administration is needed to reduce administration-related reactions. By using a careful procedure, the sc formulation can be given safely and effectively, potentially reducing the burden on health care resources and improving quality of life for patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Asfaw Erku

Background.Today, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is being routinely practiced by cancer patients worldwide. This study aimed at examining the prevalence of CAM use in patients with cancer and comparing the quality of life (QoL) in CAM users and nonusers.Methods.A cross-sectional study was employed on 195 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at Gondar University Referral Hospital (GURH) chemotherapy center. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used and the collected data were analyzed by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 21.0 for Windows.Results.154 (79%) patients were found to be users of CAM. Educational status, average monthly income, disease stage, and comorbidity were strong predictors of use of CAM. The most commonly utilized types of CAM were traditional herbal based medicine (72.1%) and only 20.8% of patients discuss with their doctors CAM use. No significant difference was found in QoL between CAM users and nonusers except in financial difficulties (p=0.020).Conclusions.This study revealed a high rate of CAM use with very low disclosure rate to their health care providers. Health care providers should be open to discuss the use of CAM with their patients as it will lead to better health outcome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Moradali Zareipour ◽  
Mahdi Abdolkarimi ◽  
Zahra Moradi ◽  
Mahmood Mahbubi ◽  
◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 70-70
Author(s):  
Patricia Deslauriers ◽  
Shanmuga Subbiah ◽  
Jane M. Fall-Dickson

70 Background: American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer accredited programs are required to provide Survivorship Care Plans (SCPs) to cancer survivors after initial cancer treatment. A critical need exists to evaluate SCP patient outcomes. The primary purpose of this quality improvement project was to integrate SCP into standard care for adult stage I, II, and III breast and colon cancer patients. Secondary aims were to examine the hypothesis that the SCP will improve participants’ knowledge base regarding their cancer, health promotion and disease prevention, satisfaction with delivery of health care, quality of life, and adherence to follow-up and surveillance testing. Methods: The IRB approved study was conducted at a hospital-based Medical Oncology Clinic (MOC) in the Western US. A pre/post design was used. Sociodemographic, Medical Outcomes Study Form-36 (MOS-SF-36), Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form-PSQ-18 (PSQ-SF-18), and Patient Knowledge of Disease Questionnaire (PKDQ) data were collected pre/post SCP. At the follow-up visit, MOS-SF-36, PSQ-SF-18, PKDQ, and open-ended evaluative questionnaire (OEEQ) data were collected. Results: Forty-two subjects were enrolled. The sample is primarily female (n = 36; 86%), Caucasian (n = 41; 97.6%), Hispanic (n = 36; 85.7%), non-high school graduates (n = 26; 61%), and unemployed/retired (n = 32; 78%). Annual incomes were primarily less than $20K (n = 32; 78%). Paticipants were post-treatment for breast cancer (n = 36) or colon cancer (n = 6). 100% of the participants returned for follow-up visits with only 2 (4.8%) delayed. There were significant increases in knowledge (p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant changes in the MOS-SF-36 ant the PSQ-SF-18. Themes in the OEEQ captured satisfaction with the provision of the SCP, changes in health promotion and disease prevention habits. Conclusions: This pilot study supports the hypothesis that SCPs improve adherence to follow-up and patient knowledge, especially in a unique setting of a low socio-economic, ethnically diverse population. A larger study is needed to show statistically significant improvements in health-related quality of life and satisfaction with delivery of health care.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri A. Martin ◽  
Rose M. Moran-Kelly ◽  
Joanna G. Powe ◽  
Lucy M. Roberts ◽  
Sandra N. Farrell ◽  
...  

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