Education about complementary and alternative medicine in cancer self-help groups by trained peers.

Purpose: On average, about 50% of cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in addition to conventional cancer treatment. Since there is a high need for information, patients often search for information about CAM and share experiences with peers, especially in self-help groups. In this study, we tested and evaluated an educational concept developed for group leaders of cancer self-help groups on how to approach the topic of CAM in their peer groups.

Self-reported fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to patients with cancer: results from two large-scale studies.

Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in patients with cancer (CA). The aim was to investigate the degree of fatigue in RA patients as compared to CA patients as well as potential influencing factors on RA-related fatigue. This was a retrospective analyses of two prospective cohort studies that used the EORTC QLQ-FA12 as a common instrument to assess fatigue.

Educational Program in Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer Self-Help Groups.

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among cancer patients is estimated to be approximately 40%. In self-help groups there is a need for information about CAM. This pilot study aimed to develop and evaluate a CAM educational program for cancer self-help groups.

Sensitivity to change of the EORTC quality of life module measuring cancer-related fatigue (EORTC QlQ-Fa12): Results from the international psychometric validation.

Objective: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group (EORTC QLG) has developed a multidimensional instrument measuring cancer-related fatigue, the EORTC QLQ-FA12. The analysis of sensitivity to change is an essential part of psychometric validation. With this study, we investigated the EORTC QLQ-FA12's sensitivity to change.

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as screening instruments for depression in patients with cancer.

Background: Depression screening in patients with cancer is recommended by major clinical guidelines, although the evidence on individual screening tools is limited for this population. Here, the authors assess and compare the diagnostic accuracy of 2 established screening instruments: the depression modules of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D), in a representative sample of patients with cancer.

Methods: This multicenter study was conducted with a proportional, stratified, random sample of 2141 patients with cancer across all major tumor sites and treatment settings.

One in two cancer patients is significantly distressed: Prevalence and indicators of distress.

Objective: Psychological distress is common in cancer patients, and awareness of its indicators is essential. We aimed to assess the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify problems indicative of high distress.

Methods: We used the distress thermometer (DT) and its 34-item problem list to measure psychological distress in 3724 cancer patients (mean age 58 years; 57% women) across major tumor entities, enrolled in an epidemiological multicenter study.

The risk of being depressed is significantly higher in cancer patients than in the general population: Prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms across major cancer types.

Background: Depression is a common co-morbidity of cancer that has a detrimental effect on quality of life, treatment adherence and potentially survival. We conducted an epidemiological multi-center study including a population-based random comparison sample and estimated the prevalence of depressive symptoms by cancer site, thereby identifying cancer patients with the highest prevalence of depression.

Patients And Methods: We included 4020 adult cancer inpatients and outpatients from five distinct regions across Germany in a proportional stratified random sample based on the nationwide cancer incidence and a comparison group consisting of 5018 participants.