CPOP Talk, Fall 2010 - A qualitative study of five survivors of oesophageal cancer in Ireland has shown the researchers that patients had to adjust their eating patterns, sometimes dramatically, and that eating was no longer pleasurable, given how restricted their diet had become and how much planning and organization was required. Some foods stick to the scar tissue, which blocks breathing, for instance. "I get a sort of blockage, an air lock, and that causes me to be very sick, violently sick, and of course no breathing," said one participant. People also said that they would have appreciated talking to oesophageal cancer survivors at the time of diagnosis and just after surgery, for reassurance that their feelings weren?t unusual and that there was hope. Participants reported personal growth as a result of the cancer experience, with one person deciding to stop hunting rabbits and to take up painting and playing music instead. Abstract: hpq.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/10/01/1359105310368448
Rural women's weight after breast cancer
CPOP Talk, Fall 2010 - Women who live in rural areas and who have survived breast cancer are more likely to be obese than women living in urban centres. In exploring the psychosocial factors around weight gain, researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center found that 61% of the women who were overweight or obese were attempting to lose weight, mostly by dieting on their own. Factors related to weight gain since diagnosis: depression, fear of cancer recurrence, less physical strength, body image concerns, changes in relationships, and financial stress. Abstract: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20734339
