Reducing anxiety and depression in high-risk patients
June 2, 2011 - The impact of short-term psycho-oncological interventions on the psychological outcome of cancer patients of a surgical-oncology department – A randomised controlled study European Journal of Cancer, available online 24 May 2011 “Our findings showed a significant reduction of anxiety and depression in the high-risk patients who had undergone psycho-oncological intervention at the end of inpatient care and even a year after discharge from the hospital. The effects of psychological intervention could be observed in terms of anxiety and depression in the group of high-risk patients during the hospital stay. In the other three groups, no statistically significant changes could be measured.” - excerpt
Horses help humans heal
March 14, 2011 - InspireHealth is offering Hoof Beats Back to Power, a non-riding program of experiential interactions with horses. "The horses act as guides as participants practice breath work, heart connection, and centering. This life-changing experience focuses on emotional integrity, boundary setting, and learning to ask for help." Linda-Ann Bowling, master coach and intuitive healer, is the program facilitator. Click for more.
Piloting online support
CPOP Talk, Summer 2010 - CancerChatCanada.com is running an online pilot program for
people who provide care for cancer patients. The program has been
designed to offer counsellor- facilitated chat groups for caregivers, with five
to seven members in each group. The program runs for 10 weeks. Based on
preliminary data from 44 participants, the groups are being seen as valuable
and are meeting support needs. The technology was highly satisfactory and easy
to use. The average group participation rate was 80%. Some caregivers whose
circumstances had improved chose to continue with the program, to provide
support to more distressed members. The research, supported by the Canadian
Partnership Against Cancer, runs until 2012. Source: www.virtualhospice.ca
Getting it together
CPOP Talk, Summer 2010 - A new form of group intervention has been
examined by researchers in Israel.
Cancer patients and family members met with staff every week to talk about
everyone’s concerns, which centred around treatment, communication and coping.
Airing concerns appeared to improve quality of care, with staff being more able
to identify distress. Staff collaboration also appeared to improve. Source: www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123592133/abstract
CPOP Talk, Summer 2010 -
Laura Labelle, in the University
of Calgary’s departments of psychology
and oncology and the Tom
Baker Cancer
Center’s department of
psychosocial resources, is the lead researcher of a mindfulness-based stress
reduction (MBSR) study; results were published recently in a new peer-reviewed
journal called Mindfulness. Eight
weeks of group work using MBSR, which teaches people to focus on thoughts and
feelings in an accepting and patient manner, resulted in significant
improvements in depression symptoms and lower scores on rumination compared to
people in the control group. The research team is attempting to better
understand how the MBSR process works.
Source: www.springerlink.com/content/x75r72j004397370/
Helping younger couples cope
CPOP Talk, Summer 2010 - Breast cancer is more distressing for women under 40
compared to older women. Support from a spouse can really help, but spouses
aren’t generally prepared to deal with the emotional and practical demands of
cancer. To help pick up that slack, researchers have devised an online
intervention of six learning modules, one each week. At the IPOS conference in
May, 2010, Karen Fergus, Deborah McLeod and Wendy Carter reported promising findings
from a pilot project. The 15 couples had fun working together on a creative
exercise that focused on “we,” and learned how to talk about difficult things,
among other benefits. Carter and Fergus presented a paper at the conference
that focused on the therapeutic, facilitator aspects of the project as well. Researchers
have begun recruiting participants at sites across Canada; the project will run to
June of 2015. The randomized controlled trial is funded by the Canadian Breast
Cancer Research Alliance/Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The trial is being
sponsored by the BC Cancer Agency. Source: clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01089764
To sleep, perchance to heal
Although cognitive-behavioural therapy does help reduce
insomnia, it isn’t widely available. Researchers at Université Laval tested a
self-help version of CBT in 11 breast cancer patients. The six-week
intervention included a one-hour animated cartoon-format video and six short
booklets. Patients were interviewed after the intervention, completed
self-reports and kept a daily sleep diary. Patients liked the intervention and
sleep did significantly improve for up to three months. The researchers are
recommending that the intervention be integrated into routine cancer care. Source: www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123597174/abstract
