Compared quality of life of terminal cancer patients (n=182) in two palliative care units with that of those in general hospital. Patients in specialized palliative care units were found to differ from those dying in hospital, showing less indirectly expressed anger but more positive feelings. They also reported more anxiety about death but less…

Presents interview with Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of international hospice care movement. Saunders describes her background and experiences that led her to form the hospice movement and discusses the need for pain control for terminally ill patients. Saunders also notes her opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. (NB)

Provides an overview of human exposure to ultraviolet radiation and associated health effects as well as risk estimates for acute and chronic conditions resulting from such exposure. Demonstrates substantial reductions in health risk that can be achieved through preventive actions. Also includes a risk assessment model for skin cancer. Contains 36…

Explored factors influencing patient satisfaction with and utilization of information booklets. Patients (N=36) rated five booklets, and strongly preferred one with a grade-eight reading level. The relationship of preference and recall was investigated. No difference between those who seek or avoid information was found. Additional findings are…

Most children and parents use strategies that protect them from psychopathology in coping with cancer. Studies involving children with cancer, their parents, their perceptions, emotions, and coping strategies are reviewed. A psychosocial support model is proposed which may be helpful when support is needed with problems of adjustment. (Author/EMK)

Physicians were surveyed about the appropriateness, content, and criteria for evaluation of decision aids for women with breast cancer. Both physicians' usual information practice and preference for outcomes from decision aids were measured. Conclusions relevant to developing decision aids to meet the needs of clinicians and patients are…

Summarizes a case study that examines how art assists in the healing process of a person suffering from a life-threatening illness. Takes a qualitative approach to illustrate the participant's engagement with art in self-healing. Demonstrates how art can illuminate insights that emerge from the experiences of a critical illness, and how it can…

Examined memory of 3- to 18-year-olds with leukemia regarding lumbar punctures (LP). Found that children displayed considerable accuracy for event details, with accuracy increasing with age. Use of Versed (anxiolytic medication described as a "memory blocker") was not related to recall. Higher distress predicted greater exaggerations in…

Reports on what appears to be a promising approach to the treatment and spread of cancer. Utilizes a mutant of the common cold virus that appears to kill many kinds of cancer cells but not normal cells. (DDR)

A study of 8 children (ages 5-7) with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia found returning to school was a major milestone and that school serves as the mechanism by which young survivors approach the process of living each day. Attendance obstacles are discussed, along with guidelines for maintaining school as a priority. (Contains references.) (CR)

Data from 83 families with schoolage children in which a parent had died of cancer during the preceding 19 months indicate that the child's perception of the surviving parent's openness in parental communication was found to be significantly correlated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and state anxiety in the children. (SLD)

Confronted by her cancer, a medical librarian finds her own best information sources and redefines "information therapy." Discussion includes sorting through the information, the positive effects of humor and staying productive and at work. (AEF)

Used data from the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey to assess sunscreen use among U.S. high school students. Data on demographics and health behaviors indicated that 13.3 percent of students used sunscreen always or frequently. Frequent sunscreen use was lower among males, blacks, and Hispanics, and it decreased with age. Infrequent sunscreen use…

This study examined the relationship of catastrophizing to fatigue in 80 women receiving chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy (RT) for treatment of early stage breast cancer. Findings revealed expected relationships between catastrophizing and fatigue among women receiving RT but not CT. Among RT patients, those high in catastrophizing reported…

Despite advances in early detection and prevention of cervical cancer, women living in rural areas, and particularly in Appalachia, the rural South, the Texas-Mexico border, and the central valley of California, have had consistently higher rates of cervical cancer mortality than their counterparts in other areas during the past several decades.…