scholarly journals The perceptions and beliefs of cannabis use among Canadian genitourinary cancer patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shipra Taneja ◽  
Yanbo Guo ◽  
Marissa Slaven ◽  
Aly-Khan Lalani ◽  
Erynn Shaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Genitourinary Cancer ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
One Year

Introduction: The legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada in 2018 has led to many patients being curious about the benefits of taking cannabis in conjunction with their cancer treatment. We investigated the perceptions among genitourinary cancer (GUC) patients regarding cannabis use as part of their care plans. Methods: A survey was created to explore current cannabis use behaviors, reasons for cannabis use, and the beliefs of cannabis usefulness towards cancer-related care, including cancer treatment, among GUC patients. The survey was distributed across Canada online via RedCAP through social media platforms, email, and patient advocacy groups. The survey was active from August to December 2020. Results: Of eighty-five responses, fifty-two met inclusion for analysis. Participants included 11 bladder, 26 kidney, and 15 prostate cancer patients. Many (48.1%) participants used cannabis daily and 75% had been using it for more than one year. Cannabis was consumed through oil-based products, edibles, and smoking. The most common reasons for using cannabis were cancer-related anxiety, to prevent cancer progression, cancer-related pain, recreational use, and other non-cancer-related illness or symptoms. Participants believed cannabis improved their sleep (70.2%), anxiety (65.9%), and overall mood (72.3%). Most participants were either unsure (38.3%) or neutral (31.9%) in the belief that cannabis might decrease their cancer progression. Conclusions: GUC patients use cannabis for a variety of cancer- and non-cancer-related symptoms. Many patients believe cannabis has benefited their cancer-related symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of healthcare providers remaining familiar with current evidence on cannabis to support patient conversations about cannabis use.

Chemotherapy use at the end of life in Brazil.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e24003-e24003
Author(s):  
Munir Murad Junior ◽  
Thiago Henrique Mascarenhas Nébias ◽  
Marcos Antonio da Cunha Santos ◽  
Mariangela Cherchiglia
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Stage Iv ◽  
Breast Cancers ◽  
Early Palliative Care ◽  
Study Population ◽  
One Year

e24003 Background: Chemotherapy in the last days of life is not associated with a survival benefit, and recent data suggest it may cause harm by decreasing quality of life and increasing costs. Both ESMO and ASCO have published position statements encouraging discussions about the appropriate cessation of chemotherapy. End-of-life chemotherapy rates vary worldwide but in summary, up to a fifth of cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy in the last month of life with no clear benefits. The aim of this study is to describe the rate of chemotherapy use in the last month of life in patients who are candidates for palliative care in Brazil. Methods: It is a prospective non-concurrent cohort carried out from a database developed through probabilistic and deterministic linkage of data from information systems of the Brazilian Public Health System. The study population is composed of all patients who started cancer treatment between 2009 and 2014 and who was hospitalized at least 1 time after starting treatment. To address the indication for palliative care, patients whose death occurred within one year after the first hospitalization were selected. Results: A total of 299,202 patients started cancer treatment in that period and 62,249 died 1year after hospitalization. Among the deceased patients, the median age was 62 years, 50.9% of them were in stage IV and 34.1% in stage III and 46% lived in the southeastern region of the country. The most common cancers were lung (n = 17805; 28.6%) colorectal (n = 12273; 19.7%) and gastric (n = 10248; 16.5%). The average number of hospitalizations was 2.7 and 89% of these patients required emergency hospitalization. About half (45,4%; n=28,250) of the patients underwent chemotherapy at the last 30 days of life. The rates of use of chemotherapy in the last month was 44% for lung cancer, 74,4% for colon, 50.2% for gastric and 51.8% breast cancers. Conclusions: Despite international recommendations on the use of chemotherapy at the end of life, this seems to be a common practice unfortunately. Measures to implement early palliative care should be a priority for the care of cancer patients in Brazil.

An Internet-based survey evaluating attitudes of cancer patients towards pain intervention

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 18540-18540
Author(s):  
C. B. Simone ◽  
N. Vapiwala ◽  
M. K. Hampshire ◽  
J. M. Metz
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Pain Control ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Common Symptom ◽  
Pain Medications ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Pain Intervention ◽  
Pain Symptoms

18540 Background: Pain is a common symptom among cancer patients (pts), but many pts experience inadequate medical management for pain. There are little data quantifying reasons that cancer pts fail to receive optimal analgesic treatment. This study evaluated those reasons and investigated the causes of pain in cancer pts. Methods: An Internet-based questionnaire assessing pt demographics and pain symptoms was piloted with pts and healthcare providers and posted on the OncoLink (http://www.oncolink.org) website. The questionnaire included 22 queries evaluating medication utilization, pain control and attitudes regarding pain medications. The questionnaire was IRB approved and held on a secure server. Between 11/05–1/06, 99 pts responded to the questionnaire. They were predominantly Caucasian (76%), female (78%) and pursued education beyond high school (66%). The most common diseases included cancer of the breast (51%), lung (8%) and brain (6%). Cancer treatment included surgery (75%), chemotherapy (63%) and radiation (45%). Results: Half (49%) of the respondents reported pain directly from their cancer and 42% complained of pain due to cancer treatment. This pain was primarily intermittent (42%) or chronic (35%). Most (77%) pts did not use medication specifically to help manage their pain. Analgesic usage trended less in women (19% vs. 36%, p = 0.10), Caucasians (19% vs. 38%, p = 0.06), and pts with higher education levels (17% vs. 26%, p = 0.29) but did not reach statistical significance. Reasons most commonly cited for not taking analgesics included the healthcare provider not recommending medications (86%), fear of becoming addicted or dependent (80%) and an inability to pay for medication (75%). Participants experiencing pain, but not taking analgesics, sought alternative measures for pain control such as physical therapy (84%), massage (7%) and acupuncture (4%). Conclusions: Although many cancer pts experience pain regularly, both from their cancer and cancer treatment, most pts in this study did not seek out analgesics. Pts do seek complementary therapies for pain control. Healthcare providers should regularly have open discussions with pts regarding pain symptoms. Further study will be needed to evaluate attitudes of pts towards pain based on disease condition. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Cancer Recommendation Consequences on One Radiation Therapy Department Economics and Employee Working Conditions’ Satisfaction in France

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Melidis ◽  
Alicia Merciadri ◽  
Paul Orabona
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Therapy ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Treatment Recommendations ◽  
Scientific Societies ◽  
Medical Consultations ◽  
One Year ◽  
Therapy Department

National and international authorities and scientific societies have recently published important cancer treatment recommendations in order to propose extra measures that should be taken during the COVID-19 epidemic. These measures in Radiation Therapy (RT) include, among others, the reduction of the number of cancer patients treated, their respective sessions and the personnel present. For a small private RT department in France and for the period between mid-March and mid-May 2020 these measures resulted in one third less treated patients per week, no new prostate cases and fewer breast and palliative ones, less medical consultations, almost half patient sessions and a quarter less new patients in total. This translates in an income reduction of more than 50%, if compared with the same period one year ago. However, the personnel, although more tired mentally, is happier working less hours and days, with 62.5% of them working less than 40% than predicted in their contracts and without any impact on their salary. The pandemic continuing and the Management reducing the salary respectively was not part of most of the employees’ thoughts before filling in a questionnaire for this article, but even after only two of them had some relevant concerns.

Sexual Dysfunction in Oncology

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S282-S282
Author(s):  
M.C. Cochat Costa Rodrigues ◽  
R.G. Faria ◽  
S. Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dysfunction ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Sexual Dysfunctions ◽  
Cancer Treatments ◽  
Pelvic Tumors ◽  
Pelvic Nerves ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionSexual dysfunction is a common consequence of cancer treatment that affects at least half of men and women treated for pelvic tumors and more than one quarter of individuals with other malignancies.Objectives/aimsIdentification of the main sexual dysfunctions related to cancer treatments. Awareness to the importance of addressing sexuality to cancer patients, identifying the main reasons why healthcare providers usually do not.MethodsLiterature review concerning researched articles published in Pubmed/Medline as well as related bibliography.ResultsMost sexual problems are not caused by the cancer itself, but by toxicities of cancer treatment. Damage during cancer treatment to pelvic nerves, blood vessels and organ structures leads to the highest rates of sexual dysfunction. The most common sexual dysfunction in men under cancer treatment is the loss of desire for sex and erectile dysfunction. In women, the most common sexual dysfunctions are vaginal dryness, dyspareunia and loss of sexual desire, usually accompanied by difficulties in both the arousal and orgasm phases. According to literature, there are many cancer patients who would like to be informed and advised by their healthcare providers about the consequences of cancer treatment on their sexual health. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.ConclusionsThis work intends to publicize current existing information on sexual dysfunction in oncology, focusing on the prevalence, etiology and clinical presentation. The authors also intend to promote communication about sexual function and possible sexual dysfunctions resulting from cancer treatments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Approaching Health in Landscapes

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Magdalena Skowronski ◽  
Mette Bech Risør ◽  
Nina Foss
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Northern Norway ◽  
The Core ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
Anthropological Fieldwork ◽  
One Year ◽  
After Cancer ◽  
The Village

AbstractChronic cancer patients (CCPs) pay attention and act in response to diverse bodily sensations they experience in everyday life after a cancer episode. Here, we analyse how North Norwegian CCPs use their familiar surroundings in an effort to counter bad mood, anxiety and symptoms of relapse and to strengthen their health. The core participants of the anthropological fieldwork over the course of one year were 10 CCPs from a small coastal village in northern Norway. By drawing on Tim Ingold’s understanding of taskscape, it is suggested that the participants after cancer treatment dwell in and engage with the surroundings of the village, including the core task of staying healthy. The participants are part of and embody the landscape through the temporality of taskscape, related to their ways of dealing with pain, worries and bodily sensations in everyday life.

scholarly journals End User–Informed Mobile Health Intervention Development for Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorder: Qualitative Study

10.2196/13691 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. e13691
Author(s):  
Kara Bagot ◽  
Elizabeth Hodgdon ◽  
Natasha Sidhu ◽  
Kevin Patrick ◽  
Mikaela Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Treatment Effectiveness ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Total N ◽  
Peer Social Support ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Iterative Coding

Background The rates of cannabis use continue to increase among adolescents and the current interventions have modest effects and high rates of relapse following treatment. There is increasing evidence for the efficacy of mobile technology–based interventions for adults with substance use disorders, but there is limited study of this technology in adolescents who use cannabis. Objective The goal of our study was to elucidate elements of an app-based adjunctive intervention for cannabis cessation that resonate with adolescents who use cannabis. Methods Adolescents, aged between 14 and 17 years, who used cannabis were recruited from San Diego County high schools. Semistructured focus groups (6 total; N=37) were conducted to examine the ways in which participants used smartphones, including the use of any health behavior change apps, as well as to elicit opinions about elements that would promote engagement with an app-based intervention for adolescent cannabis cessation. An iterative coding structure was used with first cycle structural coding, followed by pattern coding. Results Themes that emerged from the analysis included (1) youth valued rewards to incentivize the progressive reduction of cannabis use, which included both nontangible rewards that mimic those obtained on social media platforms and prosocial activity-related rewards, (2) having the ability to self-monitor progression, (3) peer social support, (4) privacy and confidentiality discrete logo and name and usernames within the app, and (5) individualizing frequency and content of notifications and reminders. Conclusions Integrating content, language, interfaces, delivery systems, and rewards with which adolescents who use cannabis are familiar, engage with on a day-to-day basis, and identify as relevant, may increase treatment engagement and retention for adolescents in substance use treatment. We may increase treatment effectiveness by adapting and individualizing current evidence-based interventions, so that they target the needs of adolescents and are more easily incorporated into their everyday routines.

An analysis of characteristics and content of highly used books for the general population in the cancer space on Amazon.com.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e24034-e24034
Author(s):  
Ryan M O'Keefe ◽  
Caitlin E. Keaveny ◽  
Alicia M. Vesey ◽  
Mackenzie R. Jordan ◽  
Grace A. Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Human Cancer ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Novel Therapy ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Keywords Cancer ◽  
Future Work

e24034 Background: Cancer patients and supporters frequently turn to written resources for assistance and empowerment in decision-making. Previous work has analyzed misinformation available on search and social media platforms; however, little attention has been paid to amazon.com (AMZ) despite 37% of cancer patients seeking information from books. Previous work also suggests there is a preponderance of vaccine-hesitant books on AMZ. Here, we report the first analysis of the characteristics and content of books, excluding medical textbooks, in the cancer space. Methods: On 11/25/20, the top 100 books were pulled from the “Best Sellers in Cancer” (BS) page on AMZ. Queries were also performed using keywords “cancer treatment” (CT), and “natural cancer treatment” (NCT), filtering for books. Non-sponsored results from the first 5 pages per search were pulled. 2 coders were trained to manually collect variables on genre, advice, terminology (TN) in the description, author, and publisher; disagreement was settled by a third coder. Books were excluded if they were not in English, duplicates within the same query, did not focus on human cancer, or were medical textbooks. Chi square testing was used to compare results of CT v. NCT. Analysis was performed using R software. Results: 56, 60, and 70 books were included for BS, CT, and NCT, respectively. For BS, 15 (26.8%) were memoirs, 12 (21.4%) dietary guides, 11 (19.6%) treatment guides, 6 (10.7%) self-help, and 4 (7.1%) cookbooks. 16 (28.6%) focused on one tumor subtype; breast was the most common (9, 56.3%). Many appeared to offer non data-driven advice (Table). Many BS books employed “war” TN (ex: fight, battle), “hype” TN (ex: game-changing), spiritual TN (ex: faith, God, prayer), and CAM TN (ex: supplement, herb) (Table). Many also insinuated offering a cure, or a novel therapy (Table). Compared with CT books, NCT books were more likely to offer non-data driven advice and be published independently, and less likely to have an MD/DO author (Table). Conclusions: Nonscientific advice is present in many non-medical text cancer books available on AMZ, including BS books. Patients seeking information on AMZ about NCT are likely to find books offering non-data driven advice or that insinuate a cure or new/novel information. Future work should investigate opportunities to regulate such content or to direct patients towards high-quality resources on platforms like AMZ.[Table: see text]

Implementing the Survivorship Care Plan

2021 ◽  
pp. 760-766
Author(s):  
Erin E. Hahn ◽  
Patricia A. Ganz
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Survivorship ◽  
Care Plan ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Survivorship Care ◽  
Treatment Summaries ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
American Society ◽  
Survivorship Care Planning

There are many challenges associated with ensuring quality care for cancer survivors. Cancer patients often require treatment by multiple specialists (surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists) due to the use of multimodal therapies. After treatment has ended, cancer patients may be at risk for serious long-term and late effects of their disease and treatment. Unfortunately, the oncology care system often fails to provide education and guidance to patients at the end of active cancer treatment, in contrast to the more standardized communication at the time of diagnosis and initial treatment planning. Delivering high-quality, coordinated care during the posttreatment phase is critical to ensure the best possible patient outcomes. One of the proposed first steps in accomplishing this is the widespread implementation of cancer treatment summaries and survivorship care planning, a key recommendation of the 2006 Institute of Medicine report, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition. This has been embraced by a number of leading organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Commission on Cancer. Survivorship care has also become an international priority, with organizations such as the U.K. National Cancer Survivorship Initiative and Organization of European Cancer Institutes championing the importance of survivorship care. This chapter provides an overview of the development and use of treatment summaries and survivorship care planning and briefly reviews research on care plans and the health policy impact of survivorship care plans as they relate to quality improvement activities that are underway.

scholarly journals End User–Informed Mobile Health Intervention Development for Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorder: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Bagot ◽  
Elizabeth Hodgdon ◽  
Natasha Sidhu ◽  
Kevin Patrick ◽  
Mikaela Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Treatment Effectiveness ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Total N ◽  
Peer Social Support ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Iterative Coding

BACKGROUND The rates of cannabis use continue to increase among adolescents and the current interventions have modest effects and high rates of relapse following treatment. There is increasing evidence for the efficacy of mobile technology–based interventions for adults with substance use disorders, but there is limited study of this technology in adolescents who use cannabis. OBJECTIVE The goal of our study was to elucidate elements of an app-based adjunctive intervention for cannabis cessation that resonate with adolescents who use cannabis. METHODS Adolescents, aged between 14 and 17 years, who used cannabis were recruited from San Diego County high schools. Semistructured focus groups (6 total; N=37) were conducted to examine the ways in which participants used smartphones, including the use of any health behavior change apps, as well as to elicit opinions about elements that would promote engagement with an app-based intervention for adolescent cannabis cessation. An iterative coding structure was used with first cycle structural coding, followed by pattern coding. RESULTS Themes that emerged from the analysis included (1) youth valued rewards to incentivize the progressive reduction of cannabis use, which included both nontangible rewards that mimic those obtained on social media platforms and prosocial activity-related rewards, (2) having the ability to self-monitor progression, (3) peer social support, (4) privacy and confidentiality discrete logo and name and usernames within the app, and (5) individualizing frequency and content of notifications and reminders. CONCLUSIONS Integrating content, language, interfaces, delivery systems, and rewards with which adolescents who use cannabis are familiar, engage with on a day-to-day basis, and identify as relevant, may increase treatment engagement and retention for adolescents in substance use treatment. We may increase treatment effectiveness by adapting and individualizing current evidence-based interventions, so that they target the needs of adolescents and are more easily incorporated into their everyday routines.

scholarly journals Treatment decision for cancer patients with fever during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-349
Author(s):  
In Hee Lee ◽  
Sung Ae Koh ◽  
Soo Jung Lee ◽  
Sun Ah Lee ◽  
Yoon Young Cho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Treatment Decision ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Common Symptom ◽  
Cancer History ◽  
Computed Tomography Images ◽  
Laboratory Test Results

Background: Cancer patients have been disproportionally affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with high rates of severe outcomes and mortality. Fever is the most common symptom in COVID-19 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians may have difficulty in determining the cause of fever (COVID-19, another infection, or cancer fever) in cancer patients. Furthermore, there are no specific guidelines for managing cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 328 cancer patients with COVID-19 symptoms (fever) admitted to five hospitals in Daegu, Korea from January to October 2020. We obtained data on demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, chest computed tomography images, cancer history, cancer treatment, and outcomes of all enrolled patients from electronic medical records.Results: The most common COVID-19-like symptoms were fever (n=256, 78%). Among 256 patients with fever, only three (1.2%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Most patients (253, 98.8%) with fever were not diagnosed with COVID-19. The most common solid malignancies were lung cancer (65, 19.8%) and hepatobiliary cancer (61, 18.6%). Twenty patients with fever experienced a delay in receiving cancer treatment. Eighteen patients discontinued active cancer treatment because of fever. Major events during the treatment delay period included death (2.7%), cancer progression (1.5%), and major organ dysfunction (2.7%).Conclusion: Considering that only 0.9% of patients tested for COVID-19 were positive, screening for COVID-19 in cancer patients with fever should be based on the physician’s clinical decision, and patients might not be routinely tested.

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