Experiences of breast cancer survivors participating in a tailored exercise intervention -a qualitative study.

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate how tailored exercise is experienced by cancer survivors.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-five breast cancer survivors who were recently treated with systemic adjuvant treatments attended tailored exercise classes as a part of a randomized controlled exercise intervention study (Breast Cancer and Exercise, BREX). Focus group discussions with a median of four (range 3-6) participants in each group were conducted to capture their individual experiences of their course of illness, taking part in the exercise trial, the personal meaning of tailored exercise classes and the group.

Anger expression, partner support, and quality of life in cancer patients.

Objective: Family members are the most important source of social support for cancer patients. The determinants of family support, however, are not well understood. In this study, the associations of anger-expression styles of both patients and their partners with patient-perceived partner support and the impact of these variables on long-term health-related quality of life (HRQL) of the patient were examined.

Sense of coherence and distress in cancer patients and their partners.

Strong sense of coherence (SOC) is assumed to promote and protect health in stressful situations, such as a serious illness. There is, however, surprisingly little research-based discussion on the SOC-distress association in cancer patients and especially in their partners. The aim of this study was to clarify these issues.

Quality of life in cancer patients: The role of optimism, hopelessness, and partner support.

The interaction of optimism, hopelessness and social support as predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) among seriously ill people is not well understood. Also, the impact of partner characteristics on patient quality of life has often been overlooked. In this study the relationships between optimism, hopelessness, partner support and HRQL were investigated in 155 cancer patients and their partners.