Supportive Care Needs of Women With Gynecologic Cancer

Abstract

Gynecologic cancers often place a heavy emotional and physical burden on patients. However, there is a lack of information about the types of supportive care needs that these patients have, the services that are available, and whether patients want help with their needs. The aims of this cross-sectional, descriptive study were to (1) identify the supportive care needs (physical, emotional, social, spiritual, psychological, informational, and practical) of women with gynecologic cancer who attended a comprehensive, outpatient cancer center in Ontario, Canada, and (2) determine if patients wanted assistance in meeting those needs. A total of 103 patients participated in this study by completing a self-report questionnaire. Sixty-five of the women were no longer on treatment at the time of completing the survey. Eight of the top 10 most frequently reported needs were non physical, such as fears about the cancer returning or spreading. The data indicated that a range of needs remained unmet for this patient group. However, identifying the presence of a need did not necessarily mean that a patient wanted to have assistance with the need. Suggestions for practice and future research are offered to assist healthcare professionals in providing care to these patients.

Perioperative Comprehensive Supportive Care Interventions for Chinese Patients with Esophageal Carcinoma: a Prospective Study

“…The European Society for Medical Oncology and the American Society of Surgical Oncology have endorsed supportive and palliative care as essential service that must be part of comprehensive cancer care (Edwards, 1998;Cherny et al, 2003), and thereafter some recommendations and guidelines have been listed in some studies (Ford et al, 2013). Supportive care is defined as providing essential services that satisfy cancer patients' physical, psychological, social, informational, sexuality-based, and spiritual needs across their cancer journey (Steele and Fitch, 2008). Psychological intervention has been integrated inside as an essential component.…”

Ji̇nekoloji̇k kanser tedavi̇si̇ sirasinda yaşanan psi̇koloji̇k Sorunlarin kadinin ci̇nsel yaşamina etki̇si̇

“…Jinekolojik kanseri olan kadın bekar ise, üreme yeteneğini, işini ve sosyal güvencesini kaybedeceğine, yeni kuracağı ilişkilerin yürümeyeceğine, ömrünün az kaldığına ilişkin endişeler yaşayabilir (Yılmaz, Bal ve Beji 2010 Jinekolojik kanserli kadınlarla yapılan bir çalışmada;; kadınların %69'u kanserin tekrar edeceğinden korkarken, %66'sı kanserin yayılacağından korkmakta, %54'ü ise geleceği ile ilgili belirsizlik yaşadığını belirtmektedir. Aynı çalışmada kadınların %45'i kendisini üzgün, %44'ü depresif hissettiğini ve anksiyete yaşadığını belirtmiştir (Steele and Margaret 2008). Kadının kanserle baş etme yeteneğini;; kanserin türü, süresi, yeri, belirtileri, metastaz düzeyi, evresi, kullanılan tedavi yöntemleri gibi hastalığa yönelik özelliklerin yanında kadının stres ile baş etme yeteneği, kişilik özellikleri, kültürel tutumları, dini inançları, sosyal ve psikolojik destek mekanizmaları etkilemektedir.…”

“…Anksiyete ve Cinsel Disfonksiyon Kadınlarda anksiyetenin cinsel disfonksiyon bozukluklarına neden olduğuna yönelik pek çok araştırma bulgusu bulunmaktadır (Basson and Shultz 2006;; Meston, Hull, Levin and Sipski 2006;Steele and Margaret 2008). Yapılan çalışmalarda orgazm inhibisyonu olan kadınların %50'sinin, disparoni ve vajinismus sorunu olan kadınların %88'inin psikiyatrik tanı kriterlerine göre anksiyetelerinin olduğu, panik bozukluğu olan kadınların %44'ünün seksüel disfonksiyon yaşadıkları saptanmıştır (Basson 2010;; Laurent and Simons 2009).…”

Development and validation of an individualized survivorship care plan (ISCP) for women with endometrial cancer during the transition of the end of active treatment to the cancer survivorship

“…Although the end of treatment is generally experienced as positive, a growing number of studies document the challenges of this phase in the continuum of care (Beesley et al, 2008;Jones et al, 2012). The consequences of cancer and its treatment bring physical, informational, emotional, psychological, social, practical and spiritual challenges that can compromise quality of life (Fitch, Porter, & Page, 2008;Hewitt et al, 2006;Steele & Fitch, 2008). For care providers and the healthcare system, the diversity of the patients, diagnoses, treatments and potential side effects increase the complexity of care in the survivorship phase (Dahl, Wittrup, Vaeggemose, Petersen & Blaakaer, 2013).…”

“…Many of these survivors' needs (physical, informational, psychological and social) go unmet (Beesley et al, 2008;Nicolaije et al, 2012;Steele & Fitch, 2008). Physical needs and long-lasting and late side effects are reported (Abbott-Anderson & Kwekkeboom, 2012;Jones et al, 2012;Vaz et al, 2011;Vollrath, Zenger, Singer, Einenkel & Hinz, 2013).…”