Effects of a 6-week walking program on Taiwanese women newly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

Background: In Western culture, evidence has shown that in women with breast cancer exercise decreases fatigue and improves quality of life. However, only 1 pilot study about the effect of exercise has been examined in the Asian breast cancer population that indicated feasibility. Therefore, it is important to further study the effect of an exercise program for Taiwanese women with breast cancer.

Survivorship considerations in adults with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome: state of the science.

Introduction: Five to 10% of breast cancers are caused by inherited mutations of the BRCA1/2 genes. Knowledge of inherited risk for cancer has potential for psychosocial consequences. The purpose of this review is to determine the survivorship concerns of women with mutations of BRCA1/2; with and without a diagnosis of cancer.

The diagnosis of breast cancer: transition from health to illness.

Purpose/objectives: To gain a better understanding of the common meanings and shared experiences that women encounter after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Research Approach: Qualitative using Heideggerian hermeneutics.

Setting: Tertiary breast care center in suburban Buffalo, NY.

Seeking and managing hope: patients' experiences using the Internet for cancer care.

Purpose/objectives: To describe the experiences of patients with cancer using the Internet for information and support to manage the self-care aspects of illness and treatment, including symptom management.

Research Approach: Heideggerian hermeneutics branch of phenomenology.

Setting: The interviews took place in outpatient settings in the northeastern United States, including clinics, patients' homes, and the researchers' office.

Predictors of symptom distress in women with breast cancer during the first chemotherapy cycle.

Purpose: To determine the extent to which personal characteristics and "person factors" predict symptom distress during the first cycle of chemotherapy.

Design: Prospective, longitudinal, correlational.

Sample And Setting: 120 women with Stage I and II breast cancer starting their first cycle of chemotherapy were recruited from six diverse oncology settings.

Symptom, symptom experiences, and symptom distress encountered by women with breast cancer undergoing current treatment modalities.

Adjuvant chemotherapy protocols used to treat women with breast cancer have evolved over the last decade and have dramatically altered the symptoms and symptom experiences of these women. The purpose of this study was to identify symptoms, symptom experiences, and resulting symptom distress encountered by women with breast cancer undergoing surgery and receiving current chemotherapy protocols. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 20 women for this study.

Out of necessity: oncology nurses' experiences integrating the internet into practice.

Purpose/objectives: To understand the experiences of oncology nurses who use the Internet in their practice when their patients use the Internet for cancer care.

Research Approach: Heideggerian hermeneutics branch of phenomenology.

Setting: Oncology nurses were interviewed at their practice settings (n = 13), the researcher's office (n = 5), or their homes (n = 2).

Measurement of symptom distress in women with early-stage breast cancer.

While symptom distress can alter the cancer experience, it is difficult to define and measure. This study's aims were (1) to determine whether the McCorkle Symptom Distress Scale (SDS) or the Rhodes Adapted Symptom Distress Scale (ASDS) was the more accurate measure of symptom distress in women with breast cancer; (2) correlate both scales with a visual analogue scale (VAS) measuring anxiety, a symptom frequently reported clinically; (3) determine tool preference; and (4) establish when during the first cycle of chemotherapy the highest levels of symptom distress were experienced. One hundred twenty women were recruited and measurement of symptom distress (SDS and ASDS) and anxiety (VAS) taken at the start of chemotherapy (Time 1), at the nadir (Time 2), and at the end of the cycle (Time 3).