This study asked outpatients with serious illnesses to identify concerns which are not being adequately responded to. Three major questions were addressed: (1) To what extent do the private office patients of an oncologist have concerns about their medical treatment, physical condition, financial expenses, family adjustment and personal coping?…

Twenty presentations from a 1978 conference for parents of children with cancer focus on the teenager and cancer, long term survival of children, the parents and treatment, and practical problems involved. The following papers and authors are represented: "The Role of the Patient Family" (Clark, Fox-Kolenda); "How the Child Perceives Illness and…

This paper discusses the attitudes of terminally ill adolescent patients towards their illness and their behaviors during their treatment. Preliminary results are reported on an ongoing study of 12 boys and six girls (age 8-21) with metastatic pediatric solid tumors and lymphomas that failed to respond to conventional treatment. Interviews of…

Presents several research studies which investigate how emotional and psychological factors relate to the risk of getting cancer. The need for bringing psychologists, psychotherapists, biochemists and other specialists in team efforts to investigate psychosomatic aspects of cancer is recommended. (HM)

Discusses the role of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in protecting the American public from carcinogens. Describes scientific testing methodology, risk-benefit analysis and the Delaney clause with its application to saccharin. (CP)

This article surveys recent research on how and when exercise or estrogen therapy should be used to treat or prevent athletic amenorrhea, osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. The suspected causes of each disease are discussed and the benefits and dangers of each form of treatment/prevention are weighed. (JL)

Evaluated effectiveness of three strategies for delivering relaxation training to cancer chemotherapy patients who were experiencing treatment-related side effects. Professionally, as opposed to paraprofessionally, administered or audiotaped progressive muscle-relaxation training and guided relaxation imagery reduced emotional distress and…

Attempts to identify and describe perceived stress and coping responses of family and nonfamily significant others of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Significant others were asked to identify stressful events related to treatment factors, relationship factors, and perception of the patient's condition. Coping responses were categorized in…

The Clinical Oncology Assistantship Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is described, along with student reactions to the program. The summer elective program involves cancer lectures (one week) and clinical exposure (nine weeks) in medical, surgical, and pediatric oncology services, as well as self-directed learning…

In a survey of pre-clinical students' views on being told their diagnosis and prognosis in the hypothetical case of cancer, high agreement in the proportion wanting to be or not to be told was found between the responses of students and a sample of cancer patients reported by Kelly and Friesen. (Author/LBH)

This research reports on a constructivist approach that was used in a unit of work with a final year high school biology class. The aim of the intervention was to promote students' awareness and communication of the biological, social, and ethnical issues associated with cancer. Students were encouraged to use an inquiry approach. They were also…

This curriculum supplement guide brings the latest medical discoveries to classrooms. This module focuses on the objectives of introducing students to major concepts related to the development of cancer and its impacts, and developing an understanding of the relationship between biomedical research and personal and public health. This module…

Highlights the background, career, and major accomplishments of Robert Allan Weinberg, professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His accomplishments and research interests focus on oncogenes, genes capable of causing cancer. The discovery of these genes has revealed the central mechanism of cancer. (Author/JN)

The Reagan Administration has crippled laws and agencies set up to cope with the toxic chemical crisis. Cancer and other dangers from dioxin-contaminated herbicides, dioxin waste disposal, pesticide exports, and cancer-causing consumer products are discussed. We are sowing seeds for future epidemics of cancer, deformed children, and Love Canals.…

Discusses the psychosocial impact of cancer on patients and families. Notes that group treatment is especially effective because of curative factors intrinsic to group experience, e.g., installation of hope, universality, and cohesiveness, that allow group members to lower their defensiveness and deal more adaptively with emotional and…