Meaning of Illness and Spirituality in Ovarian Cancer Survivors

Ferrell, Betty; Smith, Stephany; Juárez, Gloria; Melancon, Cindy

doi:10.1188/03.onf.249-257

Cited by 90 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…However, despite the known burden of symptom clusters, little is known about the experience and meaning of MSs for individuals with advanced cancer. Yet, these have profound implications for patients' physical, psychological and social health [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ experiences and perspectives of multiple concurrent symptoms in advanced cancer: a semi-structured interview study

Dong

Butow

Tong

et al. 2015

Support Care Cancer

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ experiences and perspectives of multiple concurrent symptoms in advanced cancer: a semi-structured interview study

Dong

Butow

Tong

et al. 2015

Support Care Cancer

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“…Most QOL instruments focus on the effects of diagnosis and initial cancer treatment [2] whereas the specific concerns and needs of long-term survivors are seldom measured. The Quality of Life -Cancer Survivor (QOL-CS) is one of the few instruments that has been designed specifically for the assessment of QOL in long-term cancer survivors and has been validated or used in several American studies [3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Validation Study of the Dutch Version of the Quality of Life – Cancer Survivor (QOL-CS) Questionnaire in a Group of Prostate Cancer Survivors

et al. 2006

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The primary objective of this study was to validate the Dutch version of the Quality of Life-Cancer Survivor (QOL-CS) questionnaire using a group of Dutch prostate cancer survivors. The QOL-CS was specifically designed to measure the quality of life of long-term cancer survivors. We performed a population-based, cohort study of 784 prostate cancer survivors who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1994 and 1998. To determine the test-retest reliability, second questionnaires were sent to 109 participants, of whom 103 (94%) returned the forms. The quality of life in Dutch long-term prostate cancer survivors was adequately measured by the physical, psychological and social well-being subscale and can be used in order to measure the specific aspects of quality of life important to cancer survivors. However, as the subscale spiritual well-being showed a low internal consistency, which could be related to cultural background, it seems to be appropriate to evaluate the validity and reliability of the QOL-CS in other cultural settings.

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“…In Ferrell, Smith, Juarez, and Melancon's (2003) study, fatigue was a problem because it reduced women's ability to continue with their daily responsibilities and they often felt they had insufficient energy to support their families. Donovan and Ward (2005) reported that 27 out of 49 women in their descriptive, correlational study identified fatigue as a distressing and uncontrollable symptom.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…because women may be distressed if they do not have enough energy to maintain their usual roles (Ferrell, Smith, Juarez, et al, 2003). Communication about this issue needs to be improved and research efforts need to continue to develop and test interventions to decrease cancer-related fatigue.…”

Section: Referencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying supportive care needs of women with ovarian cancer

Fitch¹,

Steele²

2010

CONJ

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Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer may experience many shortterm and long-term effects from cancer and its treatment. Cancer has more than a physical impact, yet there is a lack of information about the types of needs these women have and whether they want help in meeting their needs.The main purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to identify the supportive care needs (physical, emotional, social, informational, spiritual, psychological and practical) Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death for women in Canada. An estimated 2,500 new cases of ovarian cancer and 1,700 deaths from the disease were expected in 2008 (National Cancer Institute of Canada, 2008). Women with ovarian cancer may face particularly difficult situations involving distress because of the aggressive surgical procedures used in treatment together with the toxic chemotherapy regimens (Armstrong, 2002;Pignata, Ballatori, Favalli, & Scambia, 2001). At present, there is a lack of knowledge about the supportive care needs of these women.Nursing staff in the gynecological clinic of a comprehensive, ambulatory cancer care centre in Ontario, Canada, were interested in understanding the supportive care needs of women with ovarian cancer attending the clinic. The staff wanted to provide optimal care to these women and were eager to further their knowledge about women's unmet needs. Although the nurses had a sense of what women needed, there was very little empirical research to support their beliefs. This study was developed to address this gap in evidence. Literature reviewOvarian cancer has a profound and variable course characterized by an initial response to antineoplastic therapies, followed by relapse and progression of disease. As a result, the disease has a significant physical and emotional impact on women and their families (Fitch, Deane, & Howell, 2003;Fitch, Gray, & Franssen, 2001;Howell, Fitch, & Deane, 2003a, 2003b). Some researchers have described this impact on quality of life (Bezjak et al., 2004;Ersek, Ferrel, Dow, & Melancon, 1997;Ferrell et al., 2005;Fish & Lewis, 1999; LockwoodRayermann, 2006;Schulman-Green, Ercolano, Dowd, Schwartz, & McCorkle, 2008;Wenzel et al., 2002), while others have reported the symptom burden (Montazeri, McEwen, & Gillis, 1996;Portenoy et al., 1994) and psychosocial distress experienced by this group of patients (Greimel & Friedl, 2000;Hamilton, 1999;Wenzel et al., 2002). Relatively consistent findings have been reported: marked anxiety and depression have been observed in many women; sexuality was often negatively influenced; social functioning was impaired, especially as it related to the ability to go to work; and physical functioning and disease progression were often predictive of changes in quality of life. Women reporting the lowest quality of life were more likely to be younger, more educated, un-partnered, or living with advanced disease (Schulman-Green et al.). Frequently, data regarding ovarian cancer patients are subsumed within general gynecol...

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Meaning of Illness and Spirituality in Ovarian Cancer Survivors

Abstract: Knowledge of the unique survivorship issues of patients with ovarian cancer can enable nurses to improve their care for these women.

Cited by 90 publications

References 15 publications

Patients’ experiences and perspectives of multiple concurrent symptoms in advanced cancer: a semi-structured interview study

Patients’ experiences and perspectives of multiple concurrent symptoms in advanced cancer: a semi-structured interview study

A Validation Study of the Dutch Version of the Quality of Life – Cancer Survivor (QOL-CS) Questionnaire in a Group of Prostate Cancer Survivors

Identifying supportive care needs of women with ovarian cancer

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