Do breast cancer survivors' post-surgery difficulties with recreational activities persist over time?

Introduction: Most longitudinal breast cancer studies have found that treatment-related sequelae such as arm morbidity [lymphedema, pain, and range of motion (ROM) restrictions] can have a significant impact on quality of life. In a previous study, we found that at 6-12 months after breast cancer surgery, 49% of participants had difficulties engaging in recreational activities and that arm morbidity significantly predicted difficulties with participation in recreation.

Methods: A longitudinal national study employing clinical assessments and survey methods followed 178 women over 43 months (3.

Discussing mentorship: An ongoing study for the development of a mentorship program in Saskatchewan.

Objective: To identify the essential components of a mentorship program as the first step in the ongoing development of a mentorship program for primary care physicians.

Design: Mixed-methods study.

Setting: Saskatchewan.

Predictors of arm morbidity following breast cancer surgery.

Objective: Arm morbidity post-breast cancer surgery is increasingly being recognized as a chronic problem for some women following breast cancer surgery. The purpose of this study was to examine demographic, disease, and treatment-related predictors of a comprehensive array of chronic arm morbidity (pain, lymphedema, functional disability, and range of motion) post-breast cancer surgery.

Methods: Women (n=316) with a non-metastatic primary diagnosis of breast cancer were accrued from cancer centers in four Canadian cities.

The impact of breast cancer among Canadian women: disability and productivity.

Each year over 20,000 Canadian women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Many breast cancer survivors anticipate a considerable number of years of potential participation in the paid labour market, therefore, the link between breast cancer survivorship and productivity deserves serious consideration. The hypothesis guiding this study is that arm morbidities such as lymphedema, pain, and range of motion limitations are important explanatory variables in survivors' loss of productivity.

'We've fallen into the cracks': Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer through photovoice.

Despite some recognition that Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer may have unique health needs, little research has documented the experiences of Aboriginal women from their perspective. Our main objective was to explore and to begin to make visible Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer using the qualitative research technique, photovoice. The research was based in Saskatchewan, Canada and participants were Aboriginal women who had completed breast cancer treatment.

Predicting recreational difficulties and decreased leisure activities in women 6-12 months post breast cancer surgery.

Introduction: A Canadian research team is conducting a multi-centered, non-interventional national study with the objective of charting the course of arm morbidity after breast cancer surgery. This paper examined the relationship between arm morbidity and leisure and recreational activities of affected women.

Methods: Five hundred and forty seven women with stage I-III breast cancer were recruited in four centers across Canada: Surrey (BC); Winnipeg (MB), Montreal (QB) and Fredericton (NB).

Arm morbidity and disability after breast cancer: new directions for care.

Purpose/objectives: To chart the incidence and course of three types of arm morbidity (lymphedema, pain, and range of motion [ROM] restrictions) in women with breast cancer 6-12 months after surgery and the relationship between arm morbidity and disability.

Design: Longitudinal mixed methods approach.

Setting: Four sites across Canada.

The needs of depressed women: perspectives of family physicians.

Twenty family physicians (11 female and 9 male) were interviewed about their experiences in treating depressed patients. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically with respect to physicians' understanding of women's depression and their treatment strategies with depressed women. Stress arising in the social context of women's lives was perceived as a key precipitant of depression in women, with family-related, gender-specific and practical sources of stress as the main contributors.

Diagnosing depression: there is no blood test.

Objective: To explore and describe primary care physicians' experiences in providing care to depressed patients and to increase understanding of the possibilities and constraints around diagnosing and treating depression in primary care.

Design: Qualitative study using personal interviews.

Setting: A hospital region in eastern Canada.

Breast cancer-related lymphedema: women's experiences with an underestimated condition.

Objective: One distressing health problem facing breast cancer patients is breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). This incurable condition can occur many years after treatment is completed and often causes pain and disability and interferes with work and activities of daily living. Patients at risk of BCRL are those who have received radiation therapy or axillary node dissection; higher incidence is reported among patients who have had both radiation and dissection.

Beyond dichotomies of health and illness: life after breast cancer.

While there has been a vast amount of research on breast cancer in recent years, areas within this domain remain unexplored. For instance, there have been few attempts to marry an understanding of the social context in which breast cancer occurs with an understanding of subjective experiences of this condition. The purpose of this study was to explore women's experiences of embodiment after breast cancer, utilizing a phenomenological approach rooted in a feminist perspective.

Barriers to treating depression in the family physician's office.

This qualitative research aims to understand, from the standpoint of the family physician, the barriers to treating depression in the office setting. Three primary barriers to treating depression in the family physician's office were identified: systemic, physician-related, and patient-related. The systemic barriers involved the shortage of qualified, publicly-funded counsellors, lack of locally available counselling, and the cost of medication.

Physicians' constructions of depression: inside/outside the boundaries of medicalization.

A qualitative study explored primary care physicians' experiences of diagnosing and treating depression. Twenty physicians participated in semi-structured interviews. Interview questions asked physicians to consider a range of topics such as the etiology of depression, the diagnostic process and treatment of depression.

Memories of treatment: the immediacy of breast cancer.

This article represents one facet of the author's research on women's experiences of embodiment after breast cancer. Herein, women's reliance on and rejection of medicalized understandings of this condition are explored via participants' descriptions of memories of treatment. Data collection consisted of 24 in-depth interviews with 12 women, using phenomenological and feminist approaches.

Understanding breast cancer stories via Frank's narrative types.

While breast cancer narratives have become prevalent in Western culture, few researchers have explored the structure of such narratives, relying instead on some form of thematic analysis based upon content. Although such analyses are valuable, Arthur Frank (The Wounded Storyteller, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995) provides researchers with an additional means of studying stories of illness, through the examination of their structures. In this article, the author applies Frank's work to a phenomenological study of embodiment after breast cancer.