Speakers: Patricia A. Ganz, M.D., Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles Alice B. Kornblith, Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Co-Chairs: Patricia A. Ganz, M. D, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles Alice B. Kornblith, Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Psychosocial research in cancer treatment and care is burgeoning, primarily in white, upper-middle-class cancer patients, including within the NCI cooperative group studies. However, older cancer patients are underrepresented in most investigations. The discussions of Working Group 5 focused on disparities in research on quality of life and quality of survival.
The prevalence of acute and late medical effects of treatment in older patients and older survivors is, as one participant expressed it, "largely a question mark." Few data are available on the short- and long-term medical effects of cancer treatment in older patients.
Lack of information on the psychosocial and physical health status of the caregivers of older patients prompted their inclusion in Working Group 5's research priorities. A comprehensive database is required in these research areas, with a systematic focus on the older patient and the caregiver, particularly because many caregivers are older, and caregivers are providing more health care because of the increasingly shorter hospital stays of cancer patients.
Research on the fear of cancer recurrence or of a second primary cancer; emotional, psychological, and/or social strain; multiple coexisting and emergent medical problems; and the interaction of comorbid conditions with any or all of these circumstances requires the research expertise and multidisciplinary enrichment offered by a cancer center or cancer center consortium.
Some issues discussed in Working Group 5 were also addressed by the Patterns of Care and Effects of Comorbidity on Cancer working groups. Working Group 5, however, focused on the psychological and social issues and the medical effects of treatment.
These initial descriptive studies will make it possible to develop and test interventions that will improve the medical and psychosocial status of older cancer patients.
1 When caregivers provider indirect care, they assume the usual family responsibilities of the sick person before illness. Direct care involves administering medications, checking proper dosage, providing pain relief, monitoring treatment interventions, etc.
2 Acute effects are problems developed during the standard 6- to 7-week treatment period or shortly thereafter in, for example, the skin or mucosa. Late effects develop months or even years after treatment and may include anemia, alteration of connective tissue, chronic endocarditis, progressive fibrosis of the lung, colonic perforation or obstruction, bladder contraction, vasculature injuries, or a second primary tumor.
| Disclaimer | Accessibility | Policies | Contact Us | FOIA | Site Map