Symptom Distress, Spirituality, and Quality of Life in African American Breast Cancer Survivors

Leak, Ashley; Hu, Jie; King, Cynthia R.

doi:10.1097/01.ncc.0000305681.06143.70

Cited by 53 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…[12][13][14][15][16] While the importance of recognizing, documenting, and treating distress in cancer survivors is clearly established and outlined in current NCCN guidelines, barriers to psychosocial care remain and include underrecognition of the need for psychosocial care by the oncology team. 17 Our study confirms the need to screen for psychological distress in breast cancer patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for Psychological Distress in Surgical Breast Cancer Patients

et al. 2014

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Background. This pilot study assessed the levels of patient emotional distress and impact on clinic throughput time.Methods. From April through August 2012, 149 breast cancer patients at the Penn State Hershey Breast Center were screened with the emotions thermometer (ET), a patient-rated visual 0-10 scale that measures distress, anxiety, depression, anger, burden, and need for help. Also, patients indicated their most pressing cancer-related concerns. Clinic visit time was computed and compared with a control group. Results. Using a previously validated cut point C4 for any thermometer, we found emotional difficulty in the following proportions: distress 22 %, anxiety 28 %, depression 18 %, anger 14 %, burden 16 %, and need for help 10 %; 35 % scored above the cut point on at least 1 thermometer. We found higher levels of distress in all domains associated with younger age at diagnosis. More extensive surgery (bilateral mastectomy vs unilateral mastectomy vs. lumpectomy) was correlated with higher levels of psychosocial distress. Most often cited concerns, experienced by [20 %, included eating/weight, worry about cancer, sleep problems, fatigue, anxiety, and pain. Mean clinic visit time for evaluable patients screened using the ET (n = 109) was 43.9 min (SD 18.6), compared with 42.6 min (SD 16.2) for the control group (n = 50).Conclusions. Utilizing the ET, more than one-third of women screened met criteria for psychological distress. Younger age at diagnosis and more extensive surgery were risk factors. The ET is a simple validated screening tool that identifies patients in need of further psychological evaluation without impacting clinic throughput time.Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among women, with as many as 1 in 8 women diagnosed in their lifetime. 1 It is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of death due to cancer among women. Nonetheless, diagnostics and therapeutics for breast cancer-similar to many kinds of cancer-have seen continuing improvements, leading to subsequent improvements in prognosis. Although improved prognosis often equals longer life, it does not necessarily equal improved morbidity. Therefore, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of quality of life. 2 The importance of addressing psychological distress in women with breast cancer has clearly been established. [3][4][5] In fact, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer has mandated that cancer centers implement screening programs for psychosocial distress as a new criterion for accreditation. 6 Yet, barriers to care remain, including underrecognition of the need for psychological care as well as possible inciting factors. Because most conventional scales developed to detect distress and depression are too long for routine use in clinical settings, simple verbal and visual-analog measures have been developed of which the distress thermometer (DT) is perhaps the most well known. [7][8][9][10] Although a significant advance in distress screening, the DT falls short in its ability...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for Psychological Distress in Surgical Breast Cancer Patients

et al. 2014

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“…Patients who are spiritual may use their beliefs to cope with disease, pain, and stressful situations. Patients with spiritual vision have a more positive perspective on life and report a better quality of life (26,27) and well-being (27)(28)(29). One of the best examples of compliance with disease is based on evidence obtained from patients with different types of cancer (29)(30)(31).…”

Section: Compliance and Copingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Spirituality on Health

2016

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Context: The impact of spirituality on recovery from disease and the promotion of health is a topic that has received the attention of many researchers and scholars around the world. Spirituality is considered one of the natural capacities of humans that has positive effects on individuals' health. The aim of this study was to review the impact of spirituality on people's health and to discuss the relationship between health and belief in spiritual powers. Evidence Acquisition: This study comprised a non-systematic narrative review of original and reliable scientific articles on spirituality published from 1972 to 2014. The research strategy was carried out using electronic databases such as Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Considering the goal of the research, 51 articles were selected and reviewed. Results: Most studies indicated the positive impact of spirituality on people's health. Recourse to spiritual powers leads to reductions in anxiety and concern among patients and their families, and allows people to more easily accept and cope with their health disorders. Conclusions: To date, most of the studies conducted on the topic have confirmed the positive impact of religious beliefs and other spiritual approaches on health and the course of recovery from acute and chronic diseases. Based on these findings, medical personnel should turn their attention to the advantages of spirituality in relation to patients' treatment and acquaint patients and their families with such spiritual benefits.

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“…(Janz et al, 2007;Cleeland, 2007;Leak et al, 2008;Kim et al, 2009;Dodd et al, 2010). Quality of life depends on the functional health state of the individual, pain level, self-attribution, self-perception and quality of interaction with their surrounding environment (Mohammadi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Quality of Life of Turkish Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Breast Conserving Surgery or Modified Radical Mastectomy

AÇIL

Çavdar²

2014

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in quality of life in patients who received breast conserving surgery (BCS) or modified radical mastectomy (MRM) for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 women with breast cancer who underwent either BCS or MRM between September 2011 and April 2012 at a private health center and completed their chemotherapy and radiation therapy cycles were included in the study. To assess the quality of life, we used a demographic questionnaire, the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Quality of Life assessment in Breast Cancer (EORTC QLQ-BR23). Results: Using QLQ-C30, we found that patients who underwent BCS had better functional status and fewer symptoms than patients who underwent MRM. In QLQ-BR23, independent factors improving the functional scales were BCS, higher level of education and marital status (married); independent factors improving symptoms were BCS, higher level of education, younger age and low and normal body mass index (BMI). In QLQ-C30, independent factors affecting the functional and symptom scales were only BCS and higher level of education. Conclusions: We determined that patients who received BCS had better functional status and less frequent symptoms than patients who underwent MRM.

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Symptom Distress, Spirituality, and Quality of Life in African American Breast Cancer Survivors

Cited by 53 publications

References 29 publications

Screening for Psychological Distress in Surgical Breast Cancer Patients

Screening for Psychological Distress in Surgical Breast Cancer Patients

The Impact of Spirituality on Health

Comparison of Quality of Life of Turkish Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Breast Conserving Surgery or Modified Radical Mastectomy

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