Follow-up care for survivors of lymphoma who have received curative-intent treatment

ETIOPATHOGENIC, EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND CLINICAL-THERAPEUTIC COMPARISON OF NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA AND KAPOSI'S SARCOMA

BACKGROUND

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are primary neoplasms derived from lymphocytes, and Kaposi's sarcoma (SK) is a multicentric disease of viral etiology and is associated with HIV.

AIM

To study the etiopathogenesis and clinical characteristics of NHL and KS, describing their mutual factors.

METHODS

This retrospective investigation was performed on 101 medical charts. The patients were studied according to their age, gender, and HIV-positivity, following the PRISMA guidelines. The characteristics of the tumors and comorbidities were analyzed according to their age and lymphatic metastasis.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients ranged between 15-87 years for NHL and between 25-54 for KS, but the age of patients with NHL associated with HIV did not surpass 34 years. The ratio male: female was 1,8:1 for NHL, but only men presented KS. HIV-positivity was found in five patients with NHL and in 14 with KS. The stages of NHL were: I (21%), II (18,4%), III (26,3%), and IV (34,2%), but KS were found only at III (40%) and IV (60%) stages. The lymphatic metastases were positive in 62 patients NHL and in four with KS. HIV-positivity occurred in 60% of patients with NHL and in 50% with KS.

CONCLUSION

The HIV seropositivity was revealed for most of patients during the NHL and SK propaedeutic and none of them present clinical manifestations of AIDS. NHL associated with HIV was found only in young patients. NHL and KS patients have similar epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics.

Coping strategies among patients with malignant lymphoma- a qualitative study from the perspectives of Swedish patients

PURPOSE

There is a dearth of research on coping strategies of patients with malignant lymphoma. The aim of this article is to explore how these patients cope with cancer in everyday life.

METHOD

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine patients in Sweden. A thematic analysis was made, inspired by Antonovsky's theory of sense of coherence. The SRQR checklist was used.

RESULTS

Patient's coping strategies are shown within three themes: 'Life experiences supported coping strategies during treatment', 'Between completed treatment and (possible) cure', and 'Illness brought closeness and distance in social relationships'. Three different coping strategies were identified during treatment: trying to control the situation, seeing opportunities in difficulties, and doing other activities to limit thoughts about disease and treatment. Four different coping strategies were identified after treatment ended, namely projecting responsibility and anger onto the healthcare system, maintaining the outer facade as a strong person who had control over the situation, talking about disease, side effects and emotions and putting the focus on the future, and managing life by anticipating death. Family =and friends were a part of patients' coping strategies, but to different extents and in different ways. Diagnosis and treatment for malignant lymphoma brought closeness and distance in social relationships.

CONCLUSION

Patients with malignant lymphoma cope with cancer in different ways in everyday life influenced by their life experiences and life conditions. Further research should focus on cancer patients' coping strategies in a relational perspective, as coping and coping opportunities are embedded in social context and social relationships.

Evidence-Based Follow-up for Adults With Cancer

BACKGROUND

The objectives of follow-up care for cancer patients include psycho- social assistance and the detection of health problems. The concept of follow-up care rests on the assumption that the early detection of cancer recurrences and disease- or treatment-related complications is beneficial to patients. In this article, we provide an overview of the scientific evidence supporting current recommen- dations for the follow-up care of patients with colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and lymphoma.

METHODS

This review is based on pertinent publications that were retrieved by a selective search in PubMed, supplemented by the authors' own experience in patient care and guideline creation.

RESULTS

As recurrences usually arise soon after initial treatment, the recommended follow-up interval is shorter in the first two years (3-6 months) and longer thereafter (6-12 months). The question of which particular follow-up studies should be per- formed has only been systematically analyzed in a few cases. For patients with colorectal cancer, colonoscopy is the most important study. Intensive follow-up care is associated with a statistically non-significant increase in the survival rate compared to minimal follow-up care (77.5% versus 75.8%). Intensive diagnostic follow-up studies have been found to lead to a doubling of the frequency of operations for recurrence with curative intent, yet without any effect on the average survival time. The findings in lung cancer are similar. However, after tumor resection with curative intent, regularly repeated CT scanning leads to a survival advantage. In lymphoma patients, the longer the interval from primary treatment, the greater the likelihood of treatment-related secondary illnesses. It is not yet known how follow-up care should be provided to these patients in order to help them best.

CONCLUSION

The evidence supporting the efficacy of currently recommended modalities of follow-up care for cancer patients is weak. Until more data from clinical studies become available, the current guidelines should be followed.

La qualité de vie à la suite à d’une cystoprostatectomie totale chez les hommes: perception des patients tunisiens

Introduction

La cystoprostatectomie totale (CPT) entraîne souvent des changements dans la qualité de vie postopératoire et, par le fait même, des répercussions psychologiques, physiques, sociales et sexuelles difficiles à assumer. La présente étude vise à décrire la qualité de vie postopératoire d’hommes tunisiens âgés ayant subi une CPT à cause d’un cancer de la vessie.

Méthodologie

Il s’agit d’une étude descriptive quantitative, menée auprès de 40 hommes cystoprostatectomisés. Les instruments de mesure utilisés sont: le questionnaire Stoma-Qualité de vie (Stoma-QOL) de Prieto, Thorsen et Juul (2005) , traduit et validé en arabe, ainsi que la version arabe du questionnaire de l’index international de la fonction érectile (IIEF5), validée par Shamloul, Ghanem et Abou-Zeid (2004) .

Résultats

77,5 % des participants obtiennent un score de qualité de vie médiocre. Toutes les dimensions de la qualité de vie sont touchées, à savoir l’image corporelle, physique et psychologique, la vie familiale et sociale, et enfin, la sexualité. En outre, tous les participants ont souffert d’impuissance sexuelle grave après l’intervention.

Conclusion

Le counseling pré et postopératoire s’avère nécessaire pour faciliter la transition après l’opération et assurer aux hommes ayant subi une CPT à cause d’un cancer de la vessie une meilleure qualité de vie liée à la santé.

Toward equitably high-quality cancer survivorship care

Although models of cancer survivorship care are rapidly evolving, there is increasing evidence of health disparities among cancer survivors. In the current context, Canada's survivorship care systems privilege some and not others to receive high-quality care and optimize their health outcomes. The aim of this study was to improve survivorship care systems by helping clinicians and decision makers to a better understanding of how various psychosocial/political factors, survivors' health experiences and health management strategies might shape the development of and access to high-quality survivorship care for Canadians with cancer. Using a nursing epistemological approach informed by critical and intersectional perspectives, we conducted a three-phased Interpretive Description study. We engaged in critical textual analysis of documentary sources, a secondary analysis of interview transcripts from an existing database, and qualitative interviews with 34 survivors and 12 system stakeholders. On the basis of these data, we identified individual, group, and system factors that contributed to gaps between survivors' expected and actual survivorship care experiences. By understanding what shapes survivorship care systems and resources, we help illuminate and unravel the complex nature of the issue, supporting clinicians and decision makers to find multi-layered approaches for equitably high-quality survivorship care.