scholarly journals The Utilisation of Traditional Medicine among Young Malay Breast Cancer Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 358-364
Author(s):  
Szariannie Sulaiman ◽  
Noor Azlan Mohd Noor
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Herbal Remedies ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Seeking

This is a qualitative study examining the utilisation pattern of traditional medicine among young Malay women breast cancer patients. The study has shown that there is an increasing number of breast cancer patients to opt for traditional medicine in searching for a cure. To address the issue, an ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in Klang Valley and several selected areas of Selangor. Thirteen (13) young Malay breast cancer patients were selected as informants for this study by employing purposive snowballing technique. Guided by semi-structured interview schedule, a series of in-depth interviews, phone and online interviews and participant observation were conducted at various settings to capture informants’ health seeking behaviour. It is evident that traditional medicine is still prevalent as one of the treatment options among breast cancer patients. They strongly believed that relying on a single treatment for chronic illness like breast cancer is insufficient. In relation to this, traditional healers and health practitioners such as bomoh and ustaz were consulted by Malay informants either as an alternative or complementary for a cure. Several treatment methods such as herbal remedies for oral consumption, air penawar (healing water) for drinking and bathing and specific item such as an egg for surgery-like procedure were prescribed to treat the cancer-related symptoms suffered. In most instances, majority of the patients were guided by family and friends’ suggestions towards the utilisation of traditional medicine.

scholarly journals Breast Cancer Illness and Spiritual Healing

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Szariannie Binti Sulaiman ◽  
Noor Azlan Bin Mohd Noor
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Spiritual Healing ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Hospital Treatment ◽  
Spiritual Support ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Illness Experiences ◽  
Depth Interviews

Spirituality, religion and family play pivotal roles in addressing issues related to one’s illness experiences. The illness experiences were perceived as a moral-religious experience rather than a mere suffering due to bodily dysfunctions. Thus, this qualitative study aimed at exploring the concept of spirituality in the lives of young Malay breast cancer patients. An ethnographic fieldwork was carried out among 13 young Malay breast cancer patients in Klang Valley and several selected areas of Selangor, Malaysia. A purposive snowballing technique was employed to select the informants for the study. A series of in-depth interviews, phone and online interviews guided by semi-structured interview schedule and participant observation were carried out among the informants. It is evident from the study that the manifestation of spiritual experiences in relation to their breast cancer is attributed to the spiritual meaning of breast cancer illness, roles of family in providing spiritual support and medical pluralisation. The informants attributed their breast cancer illness as qada’ and qadar of Allah. They accented it as ujian (test) or balasan (divine punishment) for a good cause from Allah S.W.T. On this account, spiritual healing was sought as complementary to hospital treatment in searching a cure for breast cancer.

scholarly journals Annotating and Detecting Topics in Social Media Forum and Modelling the Annotation to Derive Directions-A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athira B ◽  
Josette Jones ◽  
Sumam Mary Idicula ◽  
Anand Kulanthaivel ◽  
Enming Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Deep Learning Algorithm

Abstract The widespread influence of social media impacts every aspect of life, including the healthcare sector. Although medics and health professionals are the final decision makers, the advice and recommendations obtained from fellow patients are significant. In this context, the present paper explores the topics of discussion posted by breast cancer patients and survivors on online forums. The study examines an online forum, Breastcancer.org, maps the discussion entries to several topics, and proposes a machine learning model based on a classification algorithm to characterize the topics. To explore the topics of breast cancer patients and survivors, approximately 1000 posts are selected and manually labeled with annotations. In contrast, millions of posts are available to build the labels. A semi-supervised learning technique is used to build the labels for the unlabeled data; hence, the large data are classified using a deep learning algorithm. The deep learning algorithm BiLSTM with BERT word embedding technique provided a better f1-score of 79.5%. This method is able to classify the following topics: medication reviews, clinician knowledge, various treatment options, seeking and providing support, diagnostic procedures, financial issues and implications for everyday life. What matters the most for the patients is coping with everyday living as well as seeking and providing emotional and informational support. The approach and findings show the potential of studying social media to provide insight into patients' experiences with cancer like critical health problems.

Communication Between Physicians and Older Women With Localized Breast Cancer: Implications for Treatment and Patient Satisfaction

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1008-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenchi Liang ◽  
Caroline B. Burnett ◽  
Julia H. Rowland ◽  
Neal J. Meropol ◽  
Lynne Eggert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Treatment Choice ◽  
Satisfaction With Care ◽  
Physician Communication ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Actual Treatment ◽  
The Impact

PURPOSE: To identify factors associated with patient-physician communication and to examine the impact of communication on patients’ perception of having a treatment choice, actual treatment received, and satisfaction with care among older breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected from 613 pairs of surgeons and their older (≥ 67 years) patients diagnosed with localized breast cancer. Measures of patients’ self-reported communication included physician- and patient-initiated communication and the number of treatment options discussed. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between communication and outcomes. RESULTS: Patients who reported that their surgeons mentioned more treatment options were 2.21 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62 to 3.01) more likely to report being given a treatment choice, and 1.33 times (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.73) more likely to get breast-conserving surgery with radiation than other types of treatment. Surgeons who were trained in surgical oncology, or who treated a high volume of breast cancer patients (≥ 75% of practice), were more likely to initiate communication with patients (odds ratio [OR] = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.56; and OR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.76, respectively). A high degree of physician-initiated communication, in turn, was associated with patients’ perception of having a treatment choice (OR = 2.46; 95% CI, 1.29 to 4.70), and satisfaction with breast cancer care (OR = 2.13; 95% CI, 1.17 to 3.85) in the 3 to 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSION: Greater patient-physician communication was associated with a sense of choice, actual treatment, and satisfaction with care. Technical information and caring components of communication impacted outcomes differently. Thus, the quality of cancer care for older breast cancer patients may be improved through interventions that improve communication within the physician-patient dyad.

scholarly journals Systemic Treatment Options for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases beyond Trastuzumab: A Literature Review

Breast Care ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Laakmann ◽  
Volkmar Müller ◽  
Marcus Schmidt ◽  
Isabell Witzel
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Brain Metastases ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Systemic Treatment ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Cytotoxic Agents ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Her2 Positive ◽  
Her2 Positive Breast Cancer ◽  
Positive Breast Cancer

Background: The incidence of brain metastases (BM) in breast cancer patients has increased. Many retrospective analyses have shown that first-line treatment with trastuzumab prolongs survival in patients with HER2-positive BM. In contrast, the evidence for other therapies targeting HER2 for patients with BM is rare. Methods: The aim of this review is to update the reader about current systemic treatment options in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer with BM who had already received trastuzumab. A literature search was performed in the PubMed database in June 2016. 30 relevant reports concerning the efficacy of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), lapatinib and its combination with other cytotoxic agents, pertuzumab and novel HER2-targeting substances were identified. Results: There is limited but promising evidence for the use of T-DM1 and pertuzumab in the treatment of BM. Up to now, most reported studies used lapatinib as treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer with BM, a treatment with only a modest effect and a high toxicity profile. The combination of lapatinib with cytotoxic agents seems to result in better response rates. Conclusion: Further prospective investigations are needed to investigate the efficacy of the established and novel HER2-targeting agents on BM in HER2-positive breast cancer patients.

Rate of use of NCCN “preferred” chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (8_suppl) ◽  
pp. 163-163
Author(s):  
Eric J. Gratias ◽  
Margaret Rausa ◽  
Lee N. Newcomer ◽  
Kurt Andrews ◽  
Nick Andrews ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Adjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Her2 Positive ◽  
Nccn Guidelines ◽  
Her2 Breast Cancer

163 Background: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines represent a well-established standard of care for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer patients. eviCore healthcare is a licensee of NCCN that uses the NCCN guidelines to support its proprietary chemotherapy management program. All regimens assigned NCCN Category of Evidence 1, 2A, or 2B are adherent treatments in the eviCore program. NCCN recommends many systemic treatment options for HER2+ breast cancer, and a limited group is designated by NCCN as “preferred” based on superior efficacy and/or safety. This study evaluated the frequency of NCCN-preferred regimen use by practicing oncologists in HER2+ breast cancer patients. Methods: Chemotherapy authorizations for all HER2+ breast cancer patients with ≥ 1 injectable drug from 4/1/2015-9/30/2016 for multiple payers were included; > 90% of authorizations occurred in United HealthCare members. Cases with incomplete data were excluded. 3685 fully evaluable cases were stratified by stage, ER/PR status, and NCCN-preferred vs. NCCN-recommended status. The frequency of NCCN-preferred regimen selection was calculated for each subgroup. Results: There were 2883 HER2+/ER+ and/or PR+ cases and 802 HER2+/ER-/PR- cases. The highest frequency of NCCN-preferred regimen use occurred in neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with Stage III HER2+/ER+ and/or PR+ disease, where 88% of 289 patients used an NCCN-preferred regimen. Metastatic HER2+ patients had a markedly lower rate of NCCN-preferred regimen use at 62% of 557 cases. Only 48% of 1096 patients with Stage I/II HER2+/ER+ and/or PR+ disease received NCCN-preferred regimens. Conclusions: Patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for HER2+ breast cancer receive NCCN-preferred regimens at significantly higher rates than patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy or metastatic treatment. Less than half of patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy are receiving NCCN-preferred regimens. Further study is needed to determine the reasons for low preferred regimen use and ways to optimize preferred regimen use in HER2+ breast cancer.

scholarly journals Knowledge and Health Seeking Behaviour of Breast Cancer Patients in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Agbokey ◽  
Elorm Kudzawu ◽  
Mawuli Dzodzomenyo ◽  
Kenneth Ayuurebobi Ae-Ngibise ◽  
Seth Owusu-Agyei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Teaching Hospital ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Health Seeking

Background. Breast cancer is a major contributor to cancer-related deaths among women worldwide, despite the numerous measures employed to prevent and manage the disease. This study explored the knowledge and health seeking behaviour of breast cancer patients at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, from June 2014 to July 2014. Thirty-five participants were purposively selected. The responses to questions about their experiences with breast cancer were determined using indepth interviews. Transcripts were coded and analysed using NVIVO version 10.0. Results. Participants’ knowledge about signs and symptoms of breast cancer after their diagnosis was high but low for risk factors. Screening for breast cancer through self-breast examination was infrequently performed prior to their diagnosis. The patients’ first point of care was generally health facilities. Some patients reported late due to misinterpretation of signs and symptoms, cultural influences and fear of losing their breast to surgery, physician delay, health providers’ laxity, and disinterest in breast cancer. Men, for example, husbands, decide on where and when breast cancer patients go for treatment. Conclusion. There is poor knowledge of the risk factors for developing breast cancer. Patients resorted to the hospital as first options for cure but were generally delayed in doing so. There is the need to create awareness about breast cancer among the general population.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Treatment Decisions among Breast Cancer Patients in the Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute—Medical Oncology Outpatient Clinic

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (02) ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Bobby G. de Guzman ◽  
Norman F. Cabaya ◽  
Frederic Ivan L. Ting ◽  
Jennifer Sandoval-Tan
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Outpatient Clinic ◽  
Medical Oncology ◽  
Treatment Decisions ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Factors Influencing

Abstract Introduction Breast cancer is a chronic disease and its treatment decisions exist over a relatively long time period. This study was done to identify factors influencing treatment decisions among breast cancer patients in the Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute–Medical Oncology Outpatient Clinic. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional study that made use of a questionnaire and structured interview. Descriptive statistics were utilized in the analysis of the data. This allowed identification of patient demographics, economic profile, cancer profile, sources of financial or medical assistance, and summary of patient’s responses to identify the factors influencing treatment decisions among breast cancer patients. Results A total of 272 participants were included. This study identified the following factors as having influence on treatment decisions: high level of satisfaction to the consultation with their attending physician, caring and sincere communication about prognosis and likelihood of benefit from treatment, family as person of influence, the patient’s collaborative role in the decision making process, the desire of cure, and trust with their doctors. Conclusion Health practices and treatment decisions among Filipino breast cancer patients are widely affected by an interplay of the following factors: family, community, doctor’s recommendations, patient’s satisfaction and participation in the decision-making, health care access, and adverse treatments.

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