Opinion statementCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a problem for a significant proportion of cancer survivors during and after active cancer treatment. However, CRF is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Interventions are available for CRF although there is no gold standard. Based on current level of evidence, exercise seems to be most effective in preventing or ameliorating CRF during the active- and posttreatment phases.

Symptom clustering does not explain the lack of meaningful associations between symptoms and clinical variables. Strong associations of symptom clusters with quality of life dimensions suggest that psychological factors could better explain symptom burden. Patients' perceptions of symptoms should be routinely assessed as part of clinical care to improve self-management strategies.

The present study explored illness perceptions of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on both haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment, and their associations with quality of life. Leventhal's self-regulation model (SRM) was used as a theoretical framework. Illness perceptions and quality of life were assessed with the IPQ-R and the SF-36 in 91 HD and 42 PD patients participating in the NECOSAD-study. Compared to HD patients, PD patients experienced more personal control and had a better understanding of the illness. Illness perceptions explained from 17 to 51% of the variance in quality of life scores. Perception of more symptoms, more consequences and lower personal control were associated with lower well-being. The concept of illness perceptions is useful in understanding the impact of ESRD and of dialysis treatment on quality of life. Interventions aimed at providing more knowledge about ESRD and dialysis, and provision of skills to coping with the illness and its consequences may improve quality of life in dialysis patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to provide insight into the relationship between information provision and illness perceptions among cancer survivors.Methods: All individuals diagnosed with lymphoma, multiple myeloma, endometrial or colorectal cancer between 1998 and 2008, as registered in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry, were eligible for participation. In total, 4446 survivors received a questionnaire including the EORTC-QLQ-INFO25 and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire; 69% responded (n = 3080).Results: Lymphoma and multiple myeloma patients were most satisfied with the information they received, and they perceived to having received more information about their treatment and other services (after care) compared with colorectal and endometrial cancer survivors (p < 0.05). Multiple myeloma patients reported the highest scores (conceptualized their illness as very serious) on the illness perception scales.The perceived receipt of more disease-specific information was associated with more personal and treatment control and a better understanding of the illness, whereas the perceived receipt of more information about other services was associated with more negative consequences of the illness on the patients' life, longer perceived duration of illness, less treatment control, more symptoms attributable to the illness, less understanding of, and stronger emotional reaction to the illness ( p < 0.05). Satisfaction with the received information was associated with better illness perception on all subscales, except for personal control (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Improving the patients' illness perceptions by tailoring the information provision to the needs of patients may help patients to get a more coherent understanding of their illness and will possibly lead to a better health-related quality of life.