"There's gonna be a lot more heartache". Coping with a BRCA1/2 alteration: A qualitative reflexive thematic analysis.

Background: This examines the coping needs of individuals with a BRCA1/2 alteration in Ireland. This study examined coping and information needs in this cohort, and was nested within a larger study in order to develop an online tool to promote positive adaptation following the identification of a BRCA1/2 alteration.

Method: A total of 18 participants took part in individual, semi-structured online interviews.

"I know I didn't ask for it, but I've got it and I've let my kids down": A secondary data analysis of qualitative maternal perspectives of their and adolescent children's unmet needs through a cancer diagnosis.

Purpose: This article is a secondary data analysis which explores maternal unmet needs and their perception of the 'unmet needs' of adolescent children when they experienced maternal cancer. The analysis is underpinned by the theoretical framework of the Offspring Cancer Needs Instrument OCNI, (Patterson et al., 2013).

A qualitative reflexive thematic analysis into the experiences of being identified with a BRCA1/2 gene alteration: "So many little, little traumas could have been avoided".

Background: BRCA1/2 alterations increase females' lifetime breast cancer risk to 40 - 90%, ovarian cancer to 10 - 60%, and males' lifetime prostate cancer risk to ~ 10 - 25%. Psychosocial issues such as heightened distress can, therefore, occur in this population. This study aimed to explore the subjective experiences and needs of the BRCA1/2 alteration population in navigating cancer risk reduction measures.

Experiences of living with Lynch Syndrome: A reflexive thematic analysis.

Purpose: Lynch Syndrome is one of the most common hereditary cancer syndromes, arising from DNA mismatch repair. Lynch Syndrome carriers are at increased lifetime risk of developing certain cancers, such as colorectal and endometrial. This increased risk can result in adverse psychological outcomes.

Examining the Impact of an mHealth Behavior Change Intervention With a Brief In-Person Component for Cancer Survivors With Overweight or Obesity: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Cancer survivorship in Ireland is increasing in both frequency and longevity. However, a significant proportion of cancer survivors do not reach the recommended physical activity levels and have overweight. This has implications for both physical and psychological health, including an increased risk of subsequent and secondary cancers.

A systematic review of psycho-social interventions for individuals with a BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant.

Women with a pathogenic variant in BRCA1/2 genes have up to an 87% lifetime risk of breast cancer and up to a 68% lifetime risk for ovarian cancer. Common risk-reducing measures include prophylactic surgeries or pharmacological approaches, such as chemoprevention. Psycho-social issues can arise due to this increased risk, often resulting in heightened distress or anxiety.

Acceptability of a Mobile Health Behavior Change Intervention for Cancer Survivors With Obesity or Overweight: Nested Mixed Methods Study Within a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: A significant proportion of cancer survivors have overweight or obesity. Although this has negative implications for health, weight management is not a standard component of oncology aftercare. Mobile health (mHealth) technology, in combination with behavior change techniques (BCTs), has the potential to support positive lifestyle changes.

Quality of life and adjustment in men with prostate cancer: Interplay of stress, threat and resilience.

Purpose: Diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer can generate many challenges which impact on adjustment, so understanding the psychosocial factors which contribute to individual vulnerability to poor adaptation warrants further investigation. This study investigates stress and masculine identity threat as predictors of quality of life and emotional adjustment in men with localized prostate cancer and the role of resilience as a potential protective psychological factor.

Methods: Participants were invited to complete a survey study via online prostate cancer forums.

Does Listening to Music Regulate Negative Affect in a Stressful Situation? Examining the Effects of Self-Selected and Researcher-Selected Music Using Both Silent and Active Controls.

Background: Stress and anxiety are increasingly common among young people. The current research describes two studies comparing the effects of self-selected and researcher-selected music on induced negative affect (state anxiety and physiological arousal), and state mindfulness.

Method: In Study 1, 70 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: researcher-selected music, self-selected music, or a silent control condition.

Examining the Impact of a Personalized Self-Management Lifestyle Program Using Mobile Technology on the Health and Well-Being of Cancer Survivors: Protocol and Rationale for a Randomized Controlled Trial (The Moving On Study).

Background: Cancer survivorship in Ireland is increasing in both frequency and longevity. However, a significant proportion of cancer survivors are overweight. This has negative implications for long-term health outcomes, including increased risk of subsequent and secondary cancers.

Individual predictors of adolescent adjustment to maternal cancer: The role of perceived stress, coping, social support, attachment, and self-efficacy.

Background: Cancer is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the world. The National Cancer Registry of Ireland reported in 2015 that there were 9312 new cases of female cancers per year, breast cancer being the most common type diagnosed. Research has identified that parental cancer is a stressful situation that can have a strong impact on adolescents' lives; however, some adolescents can turn a negative event into a way of enhancing their skills and psychological resources.

Coping with chemotherapy for breast cancer: Asking women what works.

Purpose: To explore the coping strategies women use to cope with the side effects and distress of chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Methods: Twenty women with breast cancer who received chemotherapy took part in qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews about their coping strategies. Ten women had received their diagnosis via a national breast cancer screening programme, and ten women had been diagnosed through referral to a symptomatic breast cancer services clinic.

A Model to Predict Psychological- and Health-Related Adjustment in Men with Prostate Cancer: The Role of Post Traumatic Growth, Physical Post Traumatic Growth, Resilience and Mindfulness.

Post traumatic growth (PTG) can be defined as positive change following a traumatic event. The current conceptualization of PTG encompasses five main dimensions, however, there is no dimension which accounts for the distinct effect of a physical trauma on PTG. The purpose of the present research was to test the role of PTG, physical post traumatic growth (PPTG), resilience and mindfulness in predicting psychological and health related adjustment.

Cancer-Related Fatigue in Post-Treatment Cancer Survivors: Theory-Based Development of a Web-Based Intervention.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CrF) is the most common and disruptive symptom experienced by cancer survivors. We aimed to develop a theory-based, interactive Web-based intervention designed to facilitate self-management and enhance coping with CrF following cancer treatment.

Objective: The aim of our study was to outline the rationale, decision-making processes, methods, and findings which led to the development of a Web-based intervention to be tested in a feasibility trial.

Predicting general and cancer-related distress in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer.

Background: Psychological distress can impact medical outcomes such as recovery from surgery and experience of side effects during treatment. Identifying the factors that explain variability in distress would guide future interventions aimed at decreasing distress. Two factors that have been implicated in distress are illness perceptions and coping, and are part of the Self-Regulatory Model of Illness Behaviour (SRM).

Cancer-related fatigue in post-treatment cancer survivors: application of the common sense model of illness representations.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CrF) is a common and disruptive symptom that may be experienced during and after cancer. Research into the subjective experience of fatigue in this group is required. The common sense model of self-regulation of health and illness (SRM) addresses personal beliefs or mental representations-whether medically sound or unsubstantiated- that a person holds about a health issue.

Post-traumatic growth in breast cancer: how and when do distress and stress contribute?

Objective: While several theoretical models provide explanation for the genesis and development of post-traumatic growth (PTG) in the aftermath of stressful events, empirical evidence regarding the predictors and consequences of PTG in breast cancer patients in active treatment and early survivorship is inconclusive. This study, therefore, examines the role of distress and stress as predictors and outcomes of PTG in women with breast cancer over an 18-month period.

Methods: These effects are tested in two structural equation models that track pathways of PTG in a sample of 253 recently diagnosed women.

The effect of mode of detection of breast cancer on stress and distress.

Objective: The number of women with screen-detected breast cancer is increasing, but it is not clear if these women experience the same levels of distress as women with symptomatic breast cancer. The current study compared stress and distress in women with screen-detected or symptomatic breast cancer at diagnosis and 12 months post-diagnosis.

Methods: Ninety-two women with screen-detected breast cancer and 129 women with symptomatic breast cancer completed measures of perceived stress, anxiety, and depression at diagnosis and 12 months post-diagnosis.

Protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of an online intervention for post-treatment cancer survivors with persistent fatigue.

Introduction: Many post-treatment cancer survivors experience persistent fatigue that can disrupt attempts to resume normal everyday activities after treatment. Theoretical models that aim to explain contributory factors that initiate and sustain fatigue symptoms, or that influence the efficacy of interventions for cancer-related fatigue (CrF) require testing. Adjustment to fatigue is likely to be influenced by coping behaviours that are guided by the representations of the symptom.

Protocol for a systematic review of psychological interventions for cancer-related fatigue in post-treatment cancer survivors.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom in cancer patients that can persist beyond the curative treatment phase. Some evidence has been reported for interventions for fatigue during active treatment. However, to date, there is no systematic review on psychological interventions for fatigue after the completion of curative treatment for cancer.

Can risk and illness perceptions predict breast cancer worry in healthy women?

Predictors of breast cancer worry in healthy women remain unclear. Healthy women less than 50 years (N = 857) completed measures of family history, anxiety, absolute and comparative risk perceptions, illness perceptions, and breast cancer worry. Regression analyses revealed that having a family history of breast cancer, greater anxiety, higher absolute risk perceptions and negative illness perceptions predicted 45 per cent of the variance in breast cancer worry.

Stress and self-efficacy predict psychological adjustment at diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently non-skin cancer diagnosed among men. Diagnosis, a significant burden, generates many challenges which impact on emotional adjustment and so warrants further investigation. Most studies to date however, have been carried out at or post treatment with an emphasis on functional quality of life outcomes.

Experience of breast cancer: burden, benefit, or both?

Background: Transactional models of stress emphasize the role of appraisal of stress in adjustment to illness. The current qualitative study uses this framework to explore the subjective response to these stressors in women with breast cancer. Reappraisals or opportunities for growth from the experience are also examined.