Toronto aortic stenosis quality of life questionnaire (TASQ): validation in TAVI patients.

Background: Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common cardiac condition whose prevalence increases with age. The symptom burden associated with severe aortic stenosis (AS) can introduce significant lifestyle disruptions and if left untreated can lead to a poor prognosis. Quality of life (QoL) is an important consideration in these patients.

Addition of anti-thymocyte globulin to standard graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis versus standard treatment alone in patients with haematological malignancies undergoing transplantation from unrelated donors: final analysis of a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial.

Background: Previous trials testing prevention strategies for chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) have measured its cumulative incidence. In this trial of anti-thymocyte globulin, we measured treatment-independence at a long-term timepoint as the primary endpoint.

Methods: This was a randomised, open-label, multicentre, phase 3 trial done at ten centres in Canada and one in Australia.

Development of a psychoeducational intervention for people affected by pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest mortality rates of any malignancy, placing a substantial burden on patients and families with high unmet informational and supportive care needs. Nevertheless, access to psychosocial and palliative care services for the individuals affected is limited. There is a need for standardized approaches to facilitate adjustment and to improve knowledge about the disease and its anticipated impact.

A two-dimensional model of disrupted body integrity: initial evaluation in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study presents an initial psychometric evaluation of a two-dimensional (perceptual and evaluative) conceptualization and measure of disrupted body integrity (DBI)-illness-related disruption of the sense of the body as an integrated, smoothly functioning whole.

Methods: Male and female head and neck cancer (HNC) outpatients (N = 98) completed a questionnaire package prior to outpatient visits.

Main Outcome Measures: The Disrupted Body Integrity Scale (DBIS) was developed to measure the perceptual and evaluative facets of DBI.

Quality of life trajectories during the first year following hematopoietic cell transplantation: an inception cohort study.

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) affects quality of life (QOL). Patient-reported outcomes examine symptoms, side effects, distress, and physical and social problems, but positive outcomes have been ignored. This inception cohort study followed people over the first year following HCT to document positive and negative outcomes.

Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship: Learning the Needs, Meeting the Needs.

Cancers of the head and neck and the treatments required to control them frequently result in serious and persistent impairments that can affect participation and quality of life. Increased recognition of the needs of cancer survivors and their caregivers has prompted research focused on the unique concerns of this complex group. Unmet needs have been identified among 60-70% of patients and a similar proportion of their partners; impacts can include profound social effects, isolation, and psychiatric conditions.

Balancing give and take between patients and their spousal caregivers in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a demanding treatment. Spouses of HSCT patients assume caregiving responsibilities that can induce feelings of burden and disrupt relationship equity. On the basis of equity theory, we propose a conceptual framework examining the individual and dyadic experience of HSCT patients and their caregivers.

Filgrastim-Stimulated Bone Marrow Compared with Filgrastim-Mobilized Peripheral Blood in Myeloablative Sibling Allografting for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies: A Randomized Canadian Blood and Marrow Transplant Group Study.

In adult hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), filgrastim-mobilized peripheral blood (G-PB) has largely replaced unstimulated marrow for allografting. Although the use of G-PB results in faster hematopoietic recovery, it is also associated with more chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). A potential alternative allograft is filgrastim-stimulated marrow (G-BM), which we hypothesized may be associated with prompt hematopoietic recovery but with less cGVHD.

Do stigma and its psychosocial impact differ between Asian-born Chinese immigrants and Western-born Caucasians with head and neck cancer?

Stigma appears to influence emotional distress and well-being in cancer survivors, but cross-cultural differences have been ignored. Previous studies suggest that stigma may be especially relevant for survivors of Asian origin. However, their study designs (e.

Pretreatment with anti-thymocyte globulin versus no anti-thymocyte globulin in patients with haematological malignancies undergoing haemopoietic cell transplantation from unrelated donors: a randomised, controlled, open-label, phase 3, multicentre trial.

Background: Pretreatment with anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) decreases the occurrence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (CGVHD) after haemopoietic cell transplantation from an unrelated donor, but evidence of patient benefit is absent. We did a study to test whether ATG provides patient benefit, particularly in reducing the need for long-term immunosuppressive treatment after transplantation.

Methods: We did a phase 3, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial at ten transplant centres in Canada and one in Australia.

Illness intrusiveness and subjective well-being in patients with glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common adult CNS malignancy but its impact on quality of life (QOL) is poorly understood. In other patient populations, illness intrusiveness (the extent to which disease and treatment disrupts valued activities and interests) is associated with low subjective well-being, after controlling for disease and treatment variables. In this cross-sectional cohort study, we examined the relations among illness intrusiveness, disease burden, and subjective well-being in GBM.

Empirical validation of the English version of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory.

Purpose: Cancer patients report that help in managing fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is one of their greatest unmet needs. Research on FCR has been limited by the very few validated, multi-dimensional measures of this construct. One exception is the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory (FCRI), originally developed and empirically validated in French.

Cultural considerations for South Asian women with breast cancer.

Purpose: Cultural values shape a woman's experience of disease and introduce novel stressors that influence psychosocial needs and adaptation. This literature review examines the psychosocial impact of breast cancer in South Asian women, a large group that has received little attention in this regard.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature published before April 2014 using Ovid MEDLINE, PsychINFO, PubMED, CINHAL, EMBASE, and Sociological Abstracts.

Distancing, self-esteem, and subjective well-being in head and neck cancer.

Background: Distancing (i.e. construing oneself as dissimilar to a negatively-stereotyped group) preserves self-esteem and may benefit other domains of subjective well-being.

Do behavioural self-blame and stigma predict positive health changes in survivors of lung or head and neck cancers?

Unlabelled: Survivors of lung or head and neck cancers often change tobacco and alcohol consumption after diagnosis, but few studies have examined other positive health changes (PHCs) or their determinants in these groups. The present study aims to: (a) document PHCs in survivors of lung (n = 107) or head and neck cancers (n = 99) and (b) examine behavioural self-blame and stigma as determinants of PHCs. We hypothesised that: (a) survivors would make a variety of PHCs; (b) behavioural self-blame for the disease would positively predict making PHCs; and (c) stigma would negatively predict making PHCs.

Waiting for thyroid surgery: a study of psychological morbidity and determinants of health associated with long wait times for thyroid surgery.

Objectives: Patients with thyroid pathology tend have longer surgical wait times. Uncertainty during this wait can have negative psychologically impact. This study aims to determine the degree of psychological morbidity in patients waiting for thyroid surgery.

Negative cancer stereotypes and disease-specific self-concept in head and neck cancer.

Background: Life-threatening diseases, such as head and neck cancer (HNCa), can stimulate the emergence of a new disease-specific self-concept. We hypothesized that (i) negative cancer-stereotypes invoke distancing, which inhibits the adoption of a disease-specific self-concept and (ii) patient characteristics, disease and treatment factors, and cancer-related stressors moderate the phenomenon.

Methods: Head and neck cancer outpatients (N = 522) completed a semantic-differential measure of disease-specific self-concept (perceived similarity to the 'cancer patient') and other self-report measures in structured interviews.

The burden of stress in head and neck cancer.

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNCa) introduces numerous stressors. We developed the Cancer-Related Stressors Checklist (CRSC), which documents exposure to seven categories of common stressors and emotional distress. We surveyed HNCa survivors and examined associations among exposure to cancer-related stressors, illness intrusiveness (i.

The psychosocial impact of stigma in people with head and neck or lung cancer.

Background: Lung and head and neck cancers are widely believed to produce psychologically destructive stigma because they are linked to avoidable risk-producing behaviors and are highly visible, but little research has tested these ideas. We examined cancer-related stigma, its determinants, and its psychosocial impact in lung (n = 107) and head and neck cancer survivors (n = 99) ≤ 3 years post-diagnosis. We investigated cancer site, self-blame, disfigurement, and sex as determinants, benefit finding as a moderator, and illness intrusiveness as a mediator of the relation between stigma and its psychosocial impact.

Measurement invariance of the Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale's three-factor structure in men and women with cancer.

Objective: Illness- and treatment-related disruptions to valued activities and interests (illness intrusiveness) are central to quality of life in chronic disease and are captured by three subscales of the Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale (IIRS): the Instrumental, Intimacy, and Relationships and Personal Development subscales. Using individual (CFA) and multisample confirmatory factor analyses (MSCFA), we evaluated measurement invariance of the IIRS's 3-factor structure in men and women with cancer.

Method: Men (n = 210) and women (n = 206) with 1 of 4 cancer diagnoses (gastrointestinal, head and neck, lymphoma, lung) recruited from outpatient clinics completed the IIRS.

Do ongoing lifestyle disruptions differ across cancer types after the conclusion of cancer treatment?

Introduction: Cancer interferes with participation in valued lifestyle activities (illness intrusiveness) throughout post-treatment survivorship. We investigated whether illness intrusiveness differs across life domains among survivors with diverse cancers. Intrusiveness should be highest in activities requiring physical/cognitive functioning (instrumental domain).

Using the illness intrusiveness ratings scale to understand health-related quality of life in chronic disease.

Objective: Illness intrusiveness is a common, underlying determinant of quality of life in people affected by chronic disease. Illness intrusiveness results from disease- and treatment-induced disruptions to lifestyles, activities, and interests (i.e.