Evaluation of a program for 250 nurses working with African Americans showed it enhanced their ability to provide cancer education, screening, and follow-up. It also heightened sensitivity to, and understanding of, issues and trends influencing prevention and early detection for this population. (SK)

Accurate and sensitive communication of cancer-risk information is important. Based on a literature review of 75 research reports, expert opinion papers, and clinical protocols, a synthesis of what is known about the communication of cancer-risk information is presented. Relevance of information to those not tested is discussed. (Author/EMK)

Exercise can positively affect a broad range of quality of life parameters in people with cancer. The general exercise prescription is moderate-intensity exercise 3-5 days per week. Conditions that warrant prescription modification include fatigue during treatment, acute or chronic physical impairments, and presence of bone cancer. Research…

A community was informed about cancer symptoms in a letter. Participants who observed the symptoms were encouraged to visit a health center. Fifteen previously unknown cancer cases were detected. Results indicate that it is possible to inform and educate the population about cancer symptoms without causing anxiety if there is an organization that…

Reports on the third Dead Sea Conference, stressing the importance of the human self-healing potential. Integrative theoretical models, integrative techniques, and workshops presented at the conference are reviewed. Presentations on cancer and immunology are reviewed. A need remains for education, counseling, and research integrating these…

Breast cancer ranks as the second-leading cause of death for women. Until recently the American Cancer Society advocated teaching breast self-examination (BSE) procedures. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, active in the fight against breast cancer, continues to support educational efforts to teach breast self-examination skills to…

In this study, the authors evaluated the effects of a brief personal construct group therapy on breast cancer survivors (N = 42) randomly assigned to either the treatment or wait-list control condition. The Gottschalk Gleser Content Analysis Scales were used to measure the effects for group across time (preand posttreatment, pretreatment, and…

In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following cancer diagnosis. Patients who were recently diagnosed with 1st onset head and neck or lung malignancy (N = 82) were assessed for ASD within the initial month following their diagnosis and reassessed (n =…

Context: Surveys indicate 50% to 80% of cancer patients would choose to die at home if possible, although far fewer actually do. In Nova Scotia (NS), cancer deaths occurring out-of-hospital increased from 19.8% in 1992 to 30.2% in 1997. The impact of rural residency on this trend has not been studied. Purpose: To determine the association between…

An international team that includes researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has discovered that mammalian chromosomes have evolved by breaking at specific sites rather than randomly as long thought--and that many of the breakage hot spots are also involved in human…

In this article, we discuss the findings of a study about how patients who have been diagnosed with cancer learn about their disease. This is a form of learning that is not often thought of as learning, within the practices in which it takes place. It involves learners who neither possess specific forms of knowledge, nor are sure about what…

Objective: This study attempts to provide fundamental information to help with the development of health policy and health services by looking at the trends of the gender-specific mortality rates in Korea and Japan. Design: The death statistics of Korea and Japan over the 21-year period from 1983 to 2003 are analyzed. Setting: We used the death…

Cervical cancer is a well-established smoking-related illness, but many at-risk women are unaware of this link. Objective: The authors designed this study to (1) investigate the relationship of smoking behavior with the history of abnormal Pap test results, sexual history, and perceived risk of cervical cancer and (2) determine whether…

Spiritually based resources (SBR) generally have a salutary effect on coping with cancer diagnosis and treatment. Few studies address this relationship in long-term cancer survivorship, however. As part of a study on long-term prostate cancer survivorship, wives' ways of coping with cancer-related issues were explored through longitudinal…

The war on cancer has been waged for nearly 40 years, yet the cancer burden remains high, especially among minority and underserved populations. One strategy to make strides in the war on cancer and its disparate impacts is to increase the diversity of the cancer research workforce. We describe an approach to recruit a diverse population of future…