Olanzapine versus aprepitant for the prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients receiving doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide regimen: A prospective, nonrandomized, open-label study

ABSTRACT Introduction : The mechanism of breast cancer is the cells growing and breeding become appear abnormal tissue of breast. One of the common treatments for it is chemotherapy using cytotoxic drugs. However, chemotherapy may cause nausea and vomiting as its side effects. Lemon aromatherapy is a complementary therapy in patients with breast cancer who experience nausea or vomiting. The study’s purpose was to know the effect of lemon aromatherapy on the intensity of nausea and vomiting experienced by the breast cancer patients as an effect of chemoterapy in the Chemo Center Room of RSAL Dr. Ramelan Surabaya. Material and Methods : The study was the pre-experimental design with pre-post test without control group. There are two variables, lemon aromatherapy is independent, and the intensity of nausea and vomiting is dependent. The sampling technique was nonprobability purposive sampling, with 34 breast cancer patients taken as the sample. A questionnaire was the instrument for collecting the data. The Data collected were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Test (α = 0,05). Results : The study’s result indicated that the lemon aromatherapy was effectively to decrease of the intensity of nausea and vomiting exeperienced by the respondents, with the value of Wilcoxon test p < 0.001. Conclusion : Lemon aromatherapy stimulates the raphe nucleus to produce serotonin. Which function to generate a sense of comfort and calm. For that reason, it can be used as an alternative for taking care of nausea and vomiting experienced by patients with breast cancer as the side effect of chemotherapy. Keywords: Lemon Aromatherapy, Nausea, Vomiting, Chemotherapy

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Acupuncture in the Postoperative Setting for Breast Cancer Patients: A Feasibility Study

The American Journal of Chinese Medicine ◽

10.1142/s0192415x15500032 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 43 (01) ◽

pp. 45-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Molly J. Mallory ◽

Katrina A. Croghan ◽

Nicole P. Sandhu ◽

Valerie Lemaine ◽

Amy C. Degnim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Feasibility Study ◽

Hospital Setting ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Open Label ◽

Acupuncture Intervention ◽

Feasible Option ◽

Satisfaction Question ◽

Postoperative Setting

Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of symptoms and conditions associated with cancer and cancer treatments. The present study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of providing acupuncture in the hospital setting for breast cancer patients and to evaluate the short-term effect of acupuncture on stress, anxiety, and pain. This was an open label study conducted at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist and Saint Marys Campus, Rochester, Minnesota. A total of 20 adult breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy and/or breast reconstruction were recruited and offered daily acupuncture intervention beginning postoperative day 1 and continuing for the duration of the hospital stay. Outcome measures included the Symptom Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Satisfaction Question and Was-it-Worth-it (WIWI) Questionnaire. It was found that acupuncture is a feasible option for postoperative breast cancer patients. In addition, it can significantly decrease the levels of anxiety (p = 0.0065), tension/muscular discomfort (p < 0.001) and pain (p = 0.023). The association between acupuncture and relaxation was found to be statistically borderline (p = 0.053). This feasibility study showed that acupuncture can be integrated into a busy postsurgical clinical practice. These results also suggest that acupuncture may be an important intervention in the postoperative setting for breast cancer patients.

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