Coping with the cancer experience. II. Evaluating an education and support programme for cancer patients and their sitgnificant others

Abstract

As reported, cancer patients and their significant others need information promoting their understanding of events throughout the illness, and support in mobilizing coping strategies when they consider the situational demands to exceed their personal resources. In the present study the provision of information was merged into the field of education and combined with emotional support to facilitate efforts to cope with the cancer experience. A patient education programme entitled Learning to live with cancer was developed (part I) and evaluated (part II). Cancer patients and their significant others (n = 127) participated in group sessions. Open interviews organized around experiences of increased knowledge and understanding, decreased confusion and anxiety, and enhanced coping capacity related to participation in the programme were conducted with the participants. The interviews were analysed using the Grounded Theory approach. The findings indicate that supportive education, sensitively responsive to expressed learning needs and learning capability, has the power to promote proper understanding and facilitate coping efforts. Becoming familiar with facts and feelings reinforced confidence in evolving appropriate coping strategies for living with cancer.

Adjusting to Life After Esophagectomy: The Experience of Survivors and Carers

“…Research findings demonstrate that patients diagnosed with various forms of cancer are united by their common experience of a potentially life-threatening disease (Briebart & Holland, 1988;Crouch & McKenzie, 2000;Mathieson & Stam, 1995), bodily disruption (Mathieson & Stam, 1995;Wainwright et al, 2007), threats to their identity (Bellizzi & Blank, 2007;Gillies & Johnston, 2004;Mathieson & Stam, 1995), fear of recurrence (Allen, Savadatti, & Gurmankin Levy, 2009;Crouch & McKenzie, 2000;Gray et al, 1998;Oxlad, Wade, Hallsworth, & Koczwara, 2008), and often perceptions of stigma or isolation (Grahn & Danielson, 1996;Mathieson & Stam, 1995)-themes which were all exemplified by our participants. However, Vickery, Latchford, Hewison, Bellew, and Feber (2003) suggest that particular cancers appear to have a unique presentation of difficulties.…”

Care for the cancer caregiver: A systematic review

“…The majority of the psychoeducational studies targeted ICs of patients who were recently diagnosed with cancer, or at early stages of their disease (e.g., Grahn & Danielson, 1996; Derdiarian, 1989; Bultz et al, 2000; Manne et al, 2004; Cartledge Hoff & Haaga, 2005; Budin et al, 2008), whereas three were developed specifically for ICs of advanced or palliative care patients (Hudson et al, 2005, 2008; Keefe et al, 2005). In all but three of the psychoeducational studies reviewed (Barg et al, 1998; Cartledge Hoff & Haaga, 2005; Keefe et al, 2005), ICs receiving the intervention were primarily spouses.…”

What do patients living with advanced cancer and their carers want to know? – A needs assessment

“…There is support for more traditional one-on-one counseling [1,19,31], coaching patients to ask questions prior to the consultation process [5], telephone support [7,16], booklets [6], information cards [22], touch screen information systems [11,30], video [8, 14,36], computerized information systems [10, 22,23,24,26,29,32,34], and Internet [4,15,21]. In addition, multi-method approaches may turn out to be most successful [9, 17,18]. While we documented a desire to attend educational events in only 30% of respondents, the potential role of such education efforts in enhancing society's awareness, allaying fears and discomfort with advanced cancer, is beyond the scope of our study.…”