Symptom Alleviation and Self-Care Among Breast Cancer Survivors After Treatment Completion

Abstract

The self-care method category most commonly reported was diet/nutrition/lifestyle and the least common category was herbs/vitamins/complementary therapy. With few exceptions, the reported methods were perceived as effective.

Self-Reported Assessment of Symptoms and Self-Care Within a Cohort of U.S. Veterans During Outpatient Care for Cancer

“…A large number of veterans receiving cancer treatment reported the occurrence and severity of 13 symptoms on the TRSC; similar studies on veterans were not available for comparison. However, these findings are consistent with other studies on adults undergoing oncology outpatient treatments in the general population, including Caucasians, as well as various racial, ethnic, and economic groups (Berger, 2009;Given et al, 2007;Heinze & Williams, 2015;Henry et al, 2008;Williams et al, 1997Williams et al, , 2001Williams, Graham, et al, 2013;Williams, Lantican, et al, 2014;Williams, Piamjariyakul, et al, 2006;Williams, Williams, Lafever-Roling, et al, 2011;Williams, Williams, Smith, et al, 2011), as well as those in other countries (Gonzalez et al, 2011;Piamjariyakul et al, 2010;Williams, Balabagno, et al, 2010;Williams, Lopez, et al, 2010). The findings from the studies on the TRSC demonstrate the commonality of symptoms experienced by veterans during cancer treatment with those of other patients in the general population and that a large number of patient-reported symptoms are experienced by patients during cancer treatments.…”

“…In other studies, an emphasis was on the importance of patients actively engaging in self-care measures to relieve the burden of these side effects, both physical and psychological. The side effects reported by patients receiving chemotherapy included fatigue, nausea, sore mouth, taste change, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, depression, skin changes, peripheral neuropathy, pain, constipation, and hair loss (Heinze & Williams, 2015). Of note, if patients are unable to develop effective self-care behaviors to manage these side effects, they delayed or terminated their treatment regimens prematurely (Williams & Schreier, 2004).…”

“…Symptom occurrence and severity, as self-reported on the Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist (TRSC) by veterans during outpatient cancer treatments, was addressed using descriptive statistics. Symptom alleviation strategies and use of self-care was addressed in two steps: first, by using content analysis to identify self-care themes (Krippendorff, 2004;Polit & Beck, 2012), and then the themes were classified using categories developed, used, and reported previously (Gonzalez et al, 2011;Heinze & Williams, 2015;Piamjariyakul et al, 2010;Williams, Balabagno, et al, 2010;Williams, Lopez, et al, 2010;Williams, Piamjariyakul, et al, 2006;Williams, Williams, Smith, et al, 2011). Recognizing the importance of the instruments in clinical assessment and diagnosis was addressed using Pearson correlation analyses.…”

Correlates of Symptom Burden of Hemodialysis Patients

“…Previous research in patients with cancer suggests that the early benefit of self-management was relief of symptoms, and its long-term effect was improvement in patients’ health (Landers et al, 2014). Studies have shown that emotional management strategies used by patients to alleviate psychological problems include listening to music, meditating, praying, and exercising (Heinze & Williams, 2015; Y. Y.…”

Support with nutrition for women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer

“…Being diagnosed with cancer may prompt an individual to make dietary changes (Beeken et al, 2016). Commencing chemotherapy has also been identified as a timely opportunity for receiving information about diet and weight management (James-Martin et al, 2014;Heinze and Williams, 2015;Kelly et al, 2015). Improving nutrition in women during chemotherapy may provide benefits such as enhancing general health and wellbeing (Lawn et al, 2015); enabling women to better cope with chemotherapy side effects (Breast Cancer Care 2014; Boltong and Keast, 2015); and reducing the subsequent risk of cancer recurrence (Tramm et al, 2011).…”