International Journal of Cancer Management
Year:2019 | Volume:12 | Issue:7|Papers Count:6

Background: Working in pediatric oncology is highly stressful and exhausting for social workers. Evidence acknowledges the development of compassion fatigue and burnout as a result of being continuously in this field. Objectives: This study was aimed to explore how pediatric oncology social workers alleviate compassion fatigue and burnout. Methods: The present qualitative study was performed using a content analysis method. A total of 19 social workers participated in this study who were providing services for children with cancer and their families in public and specialized children’ s cancer hospitals in Iran. A purposeful sampling method was applied, until reaching data saturation. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed by qualitative inductive content analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was supported by considering the creditability, transferability, dependability, and conformability. The study lasted from 2015 to 2017. Results: Four main categories including sense of being worthy, self-care, professional growth, and establishing boundaries were extracted from the experiences of social workers which was identified “ resiliency of social workers” as a key concept. The contributing factors demonstrated the strategies was used by social workers to protect themselves from CF and BO. Conclusions: As a result of this study, through recognizing the strategies to resilience in pediatric oncology social workers and enforcing its contributing factors, the health-care system, social workers, and the patients would all benefit. The results of this study can be used as the basis for future research in this field.

Background: The identification of the factors related to adoption of skin cancer preventive behaviors in adolescents plays a significant role in the appropriate design and implementation of relevant educational approaches. Objectives: The aim of present study was toinvestigate the factors associated with skin cancer preventive behaviors in the male high school students of Isfahan, using the protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 311 male high school students of Isfahan in 2018. A reliable questionnaire was used for data collection, whose validity and reliability had been confirmed before. The data were analyzed, using the SPSS software (version 20), Pearson’ s correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression, one-way ANOVA, independent t test, and Spearman’ s correlation coefficient. Results: Pearson’ s correlation coefficient indicated that the score of skin cancer preventive behaviors was inversely associated with response cost score (P < 0. 001), while it was directly related to perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, self-efficacy, response efficacy, fear, and protection motivation (P < 0. 001). The multiple linear regression model showed that among the constructs of the PMT, the scores for self-efficacy, response cost, and perceived susceptibility were significant predictors of skin cancer preventive behaviors, respectively, in order of importance. Conclusions: This study showed that the PMT constructs were associated with the skin cancer preventive behaviors, which could be promoted by designing and implementing educational studies based on the constructs.

Objectives: In order to reduce suffering in cancer patients from answering different questionnaires, this study aimed to explore whether the emotional functioning (derived from subscale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire-EORTC QLQ-C30) could quantify anxiety and depression in patients with different carcinomas. Methods: Sample of patients with gastrointestinal cancer attending to Tehran Cancer Institute were studied. Patients were asked to complete two questionnaires: the emotional functioning (EF-derived from the EORTC QLQ-C30) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). The Pearson’ s correlation coefficient (r) and logistic regression analyses were performed in order to examine the association between emotional functioning (EF), anxiety, and depression. Results: In total 137 patients with gastrointestinal cancer were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 54. 6 (SD = 13. 8) years old; most were married (87%), male (55. 5%), and without any normal education (55. 5%). The mean emotional functioning score was 69. 3 (SD = 27. 3) and it was 7. 7 (SD = 4. 5) for anxiety and 8. 5 (SD = 3. 9) for depression. Significant negative correlations were found between EF subscale of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and both subscales of the HADS (Anxiety: r =-0. 62, P < 0. 0001; Depression: r =-0. 54, P < 0. 0001). The results obtained from logistic regression analysis showed strong associations between emotional functioning, anxiety, and depression (odds ratio for anxiety: 0. 94, 95%; CI: 0. 92-0. 96, P < 0. 0001; odds ratio for depression: 0. 96, 95%; CI: 0. 94-0. 98; P < 0. 0001). No other variables studied showed significant results. Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that emotional functioning subscale of the EORTC QLQ-C30 covers both anxiety and depression. Indeed it is robust to use emotional functioning subscale to assess psychological distress in cancer patients.

Background: High-potency Cannabis (HPC) is commonly used by patients with cancer to relieve pain. Parents’ HPC consumption can have an adverse effect on the physical, psychological, and social aspects of children. Objectives: This study was conducted aimed to investigate the effectiveness of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) on the reduction of aggression and cortisol level in children of dependent cannabis caregiver with cancer. Methods: In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, from March 2015 to October 2016, 50 caregivers residing in Tehran, Iran with metastatic cancer consuming HPC and their children with aggression problem were selected, using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method and were randomly assigned to the experimental or control groups through block randomization. Changes in the level of aggression and cortisol during 12 weeks were analyzed by repeated measures correlation (rmcorr) and generalized estimation equation (GEE) through SPSS 22 software. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0. 01. Results: The primary outcomes showed that 12 weeks of PCIT had a significant effect on the reduction of children’ s aggression and the level of salivary cortisol in children (P< 0. 01). However, the results werenot stable until the follow-up stage (P=0. 067). Secondary outcomes showed that there was a significant relationship between aggression index and cortisol level (P < 0. 01). Conclusions: The findings of the present study are consistent with the research background confirming the role of systematic and nonlinear (cyclic) look at behavioral and psychological problems during growth. These findings can be found in family setting and in educational settings such as kindergartens with clinical application.

Background: The emotion thermometers (ET) is one of the main tools that is recommended, but it has not been examined in Iran. Objectives: The aim of this research was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Persian form of ET in advanced cancer patients. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 150 advanced cancer patients, who were referred to palliative care at Firoozgar Hospital from September to November 2017, were selected through convenience sampling method. Then, the instrument was translated into Persian and back-translated and its content and face validities were examined. To ensure divergent, convergent, and predictive validity, McGill quality of life questionnaire and hospital anxiety and depression scale were used. also, sensitivity and specificity were determined by using the receiver operating characteristics curve. Finally, to assess the reliability, the test-retest correlation was calculated via the Pearson correlation coefficient. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 software (P < 0. 01). Results: The results of this study provided strong supports, which confirmed the content and face validities. Regarding the convergent and divergent validity, ET had a direct and strong relationship with HADS and all thermometers had a significant and reverse relationship with MQOL. The results of logistic regression showed that the model based on 5 variables of prediction could explain 65% of the variance of hospital anxiety variable and 51% of the variance of hospital depression. Using a cut-off of 3v4 on all thermometers against hospital anxiety, the optimal thermometer was the Anxiety Thermometer (specificity 68%, sensitivity 97%) and against the hospital depression scale, the optimal thermometer was the depression thermometer (specificity 74%, sensitivity 82%). Also, the results showed that the test-retest correlation coefficient varied from 0. 81 to 0. 88. Conclusions: This study has providedsomeevidenceonthe validity and reliability of the Persian form of ET as a sufficiently accurate way for identifying the distress of advanced cancer patients.

Introduction: Solitary bone plasmacytoma and extramedullary plasmacytoma are the proliferation of plasma cells in bone or soft tissues, without bone marrow involvement or other systemic presentation of multiple myeloma. A separate category of plasmacytomas is identified that “ occur as multiple sites of disease in soft tissue, bone, or both soft tissue and bone” . Multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma or multiple solitary plasmacytoma is defined as when there is more than one extramedullary tumor of plasma cells or multiple sites of disease in bone. Case Presentation: We report such rare case of multiple extramedullary plasmacytoma involving skin and soft tissues of abdomen wall, pelvic, chest, and solitary plasmacytoma bone in rib 6 chest and in bone of sacrum also diagnostic work up, treatment and care to the patients we have done. Conclusions: Prognosis is very poor, and if it is appropriate to stem cell, transplantation is considered to prevent recurrence.