Psychosocial Issues in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Social support and quality of life of patients prior to stem cell or bone marrow transplantation

“…Investigating the adequacy of social support (Lobchuk & Vorauer, 2003) may help to identify those at risk of future adjustment problems post‐HCT, and therefore facilitate prevention and treatment (Siston et al , 2001). This helps clinicians in providing interventions aiming at adequate social support and sustainable decision making (Andrykowski & McQuellon, 2004; Lesko, 1994) prior to HCT. HCT candidates' illusionary expectations of a restoration to pre‐illness functioning are linked to poorer psychological adjustment in HCT survivors.…”

Well-being and posttraumatic growth in unrelated donor marrow transplant survivors: A nine-year longitudinal study.

“…HSCT is essentially a restorative treatment: Patients are given lethal doses of chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate can-cerous cells and are then transplanted with their own or donor marrow to restore immune function. Because HSCT involves radiation and chemotherapy, followed by prolonged periods of isolation, it has been shown to be psychologically and physically challenging (see Andrykowski & McQuellon, 2004, for a review). In addition, patients receiving marrow from unrelated matched donors, as was the case in this study, compared with related donors are more susceptible to graft versus host disease (GVHD), a serious consequence of HSCT involving skin rashes, mouth and throat sores, intestinal interference, lung scarring, and liver damage.…”

When is the best time for psychotherapeutic intervention following autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation?

“…In the patient's subjective perspective, there may be a contrast between an excellent clinical evolution and a preponderance of negative personal changes [21]. The distress in the advanced post-PBSCT trajectory may be 'objective' or a cognitive problem of patients' expectancies (upward comparison with what should be already possible) in the fields of gender, family, or professional role, sexuality or financial situation [4,11,45,50]. Some patients may attribute this distress to drugs, e.g., to interferon treatment, to the oncologist, or to the psychotherapist who may be associated with the 'problematic' aspects of life.…”