Abstract
Distress associated with attendance at a radiotherapy department was assessed in 80 consecutive patients. All patients were interviewed within 24 h of their first fraction of radiotherapy; 31 patients were also interviewed at the end of treatment. The problem identified at first interview as causing the most distress was worry about the effects of disease and its treatment upon the patient's family. At second interview the dominant complaint was of not being allowed to wash. Psychological problems, including anxiety and sleep disturbances, caused more overall distress than did physical symptoms. The method used in this study for eliciting information on the side-effects of therapy is straightforward and has yielded data that are provocative and suggest interesting avenues for further investigation.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- BROWN W. M. C. Symptomatic disturbance after single therapeutic dose of x rays; its relationship to the general radiation syndrome. Br Med J. 1953 Apr 11;1(4814):802–805. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.4814.802. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cassileth B. R., Zupkis R. V., Sutton-Smith K., March V. Information and participation preferences among cancer patients. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Jun;92(6):832–836. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-92-6-832. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Coates A., Abraham S., Kaye S. B., Sowerbutts T., Frewin C., Fox R. M., Tattersall M. H. On the receiving end--patient perception of the side-effects of cancer chemotherapy. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 1983 Feb;19(2):203–208. doi: 10.1016/0277-5379(83)90418-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Haylock P. J., Hart L. K. Fatigue in patients receiving localized radiation. Cancer Nurs. 1979 Dec;2(6):461–467. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Johnson J. E., Nail L. M., Lauver D., King K. B., Keys H. Reducing the negative impact of radiation therapy on functional status. Cancer. 1988 Jan 1;61(1):46–51. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19880101)61:1<46::aid-cncr2820610109>3.0.co;2-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- King K. B., Nail L. M., Kreamer K., Strohl R. A., Johnson J. E. Patients' descriptions of the experience of receiving radiation therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1985 Jul-Aug;12(4):55–61. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Reynolds P. M., Sanson-Fisher R. W., Poole A. D., Harker J., Byrne M. J. Cancer and communication: information-giving in an oncology clinic. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1981 May 2;282(6274):1449–1451. doi: 10.1136/bmj.282.6274.1449. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]