Syskon till barn med cancer ägnas lite tid inom hälso- och sjukvården. De är ofta emotionellt försummade av hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal samt närstående. Syftet med studien var att belysa behovet av stöd hos syskon till barn med cancer. Metoden var en litteraturstudie innehållande totalt 16 vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna var både av kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats. Det framkom i re- sultatet att syskon till barn med cancer upplevde känslor av oro, ångest, avundsjuka, ilska, irritation, skuld, ensamhet, nedstämdhet och symptom på de- pression. Hos de friska syskonen som fick stöd minskade de negativa känslorna markant. Det är av yttersta vikt att sjuksköterskan uppmärksammar behovet av stöd hos syskonen och att stödet individ- anpassas. Sjuksköterskan behöver kunskap i hur de tar reda på vilket behov av stöd de friska syskonen har. Dessutom behövs kunskap om konkreta stödåt- gärder som sjuksköterskan kan använda. / Siblings of children with cancer is given little timein the health care system. They are often emotionallyneglected by health care professionals and relatives.The aim of the study was to highlight the need forsupport to siblings of children with cancer.The method was a literature review containing a totalof 16 scientific articles. The articles were ofboth qualitative and quantitative method. It was found in the results that siblings of children with cancer experienced feelings of worry, anxiety,jealousy, anger, irritability, guilt, loneliness andsymptoms of depression. The negative feelingsdecreased significantly when the healthy siblingsreceived support. It is important that the nurse recog-nizes the need for support among siblings and thatthe support is individualized. Nurses need knowledge of how to find out which need of support the healthy siblings have. Furthermore, knowledge is needed about specific support actions that nurses can use.

Forskning har visat att fysisk aktivitet ger en bättre prognos för kvinnor som drabbats av bröstcancer. Den beskrivs också ha betydelse för symtomlindring vid cytostatikarelaterade biverkningar, vilket i sin tur leder till ökad livskvalité hos dessa kvinnor. Det har även framkommit i studier att det råder brister inom sjukvården vad gäller att förmedla sådan information. Som ett första steg behövs en kartläggning av den fysiska aktiviteten hos kvinnor med bröstcancer, deras aktivitetsvanor och vilken betydelse fysisk aktivitet har för dem under pågående cytostatikabehandling. Denna studie genomfördes som en tvärsnittstudie med syftet att beskriva fysisk aktivitet hos kvinnor med bröstcancer som genomgår adjuvant cytostatikabehandling. 30 kvinnor som genomgick adjuvant cytostatikabehandling vid den onkologiska behandlingsenheten vid Universitetssjukhuset i Örebro (USÖ) besvarade en enkät med frågor om fysisk aktivitet. Enkäten bestod av både öppna och slutna frågor. Datamaterialet har analyserats med deskriptiv statistik. Den avslutande öppna frågan analyserades med modifierad manifest innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att kvinnorna i lika hög grad var fysiskt aktiva före som under cytostatikabehandlingarna. Skälen som kvinnorna uppgav till att vara fysiskt aktiva var att de kände sig mindre trötta och att den kunde skingra tankarna. Många kvinnor upplevde att de mådde psykiskt bättre av fysisk aktivitet och att det gick lättare att återhämta sig mellan behandlingarna. Den aktivitetsform som främst utfördes var promenader. Ett flertal kvinnor hade fått information av vårdpersonal gällande fysisk aktivitet i samband med cytostatikabehandling men mindre än hälften av dessa kvinnor följdes upp under behandlingsperioden. Informationen gavs främst av sjuksköterskor och läkare. / Research has shown that physical activity improves survival for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Studies have also described that physical activity is a matter of importance for alleviating common side effects from chemotherapy which thereby increases the quality of life for these women. It has also emerged that there is insufficient information on this topic. As a first step, it is necessary to do a survey of the physical activity in women with breast cancer, their activity experiences and what importance physical activity play for them during adjuvant chemotherapy. This work was a cross-sectional study based on questionnaires. The purpose of this study was to describe physical activity in women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. 30 women who received adjuvant chemotherapy at the medical treatment unit for oncology at Örebro University Hospital (USÖ) answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained both closed and open-ended questions. The data was analysed with descriptive statistics. The final open-ended questions were analysed with a modified manifest content analysis. The result showed that the women had the same activity level before as during the treatment period. The reasons for the women to be physically active were to decrease fatigue and to divert their minds. The majority of the women experienced feeling psychologically better and experienced better recovery between chemotherapy treatments. Walking was the most frequently used activity. The majority of the women received information about physical activity, but less than half of the women were followed-up. This information was primarily given by nurses and doctors.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Like others who endure serious stressors, cancer patients often report personal growth as a result of their illness, a phenomenon termed "posttraumatic growth." Although researchers often accept these reports as valid, temporal comparison theory suggests that people may overestimate such growth. According to the theory, remembering the past self as less positive than the present self may serve as an illusory self-enhancement process that allows one to see continual personal growth. Thus, reports of posttraumatic growth may represent perceived rather than actual change in the self. To test this possibility, we prospectively examined 88 individuals with early stage breast (Stage 0, I or II) or prostate (Stage I or II) cancer. Patients completed measures of positive attributes and personal meaning prior to radiation treatment (Time 1) and again following radiation treatment (Time 2). At Time 2, participants were also asked to recreate their Time 1 responses (Recalled Time 1). Difference scores between Time 1 and Time 2 were generated to represent actual change, and between Recalled Time 1 and Time 2 to represent perceived change. Over the three assessments, ratings of personal meaning showed no change. Ratings of positive attributes showed actual positive change, F (1, 85) = 12.88, p = .0006. Patients, however, did not perceive themselves as changing, F (1, 85) = 3.34, p = n.s. Recalled Time 1 ratings significantly overestimated actual Time 1 ratings, F (1, 85) = 4.91, p = .03. Posttraumatic growth was not correlated with actual change, r = .12, n.s., but was significantly correlated with perceived change, r = .27, p = .01. Findings suggest that self-reported posttraumatic growth may reflect perceived rather than actual change over time.

The Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM) classification system of tumour stage does not always reflect the actual tumour mass present at diagnosis. Recent reports propose that volumetric analysis may allow improved stratification of disease recurrence and survival in head and neck squamous cell cancer (SCC). This study aims to assess the prognostic value of tumour volume on the outcome of patients with oral cavity and oropharyngeal SCC. / A retrospective review of 73 patients was completed. Tumours were outlined semi-automatically in digitized computed tomography scans, and volumes computed based on surface triangulations of three-dimensional reconstructions with novel software developed at McGill. / Results illustrate significant interstage variability within the current TNM model. Moreover, in oral cavity and oropharyngeal SCC, tumour volume as well as T-stage are significant and independent predictors of disease free survival and overall survival.

The process of metastasis is initiated through the acquisition of inherent and autonomous motile and invasive properties by tumor cells. These phenomena are initiated through a balance between forward cancer cell membrane protrusion and tail retraction, and occur via cell cytoskeleton remodeling, actin reorganization, and coordinated focal adhesion assembly and disassembly events. Among the vast network of cytoskeletal proteins, the actin-bundling protein fascin plays a major function in cell cytoskeleton remodeling. It is a 55-kDa protein involved in the formation of filopodia and cell migration, and found to be upregulated in many cancers. We report herein key functions for fascin in the regulation of prostate and breast cancer progression. Fascin expression is upregulated in localized and hormone refractory prostate cancer, responsible for a more aggressive clinical course. In addition, functional dissection of fascin reveals a novel function in the regulation of focal adhesion turnover dynamics, by modulating the phosphorylation state of central focal adhesion proteins through a potential collaboration with the protein tyrosine phosphatase, PEST. Together, our data support the importance of fascin in cancer cell invasion and as a significant prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for aggressive cancers.

Sexualitetens och den sexuella hälsans betydelse för människans välbefinnande är väl dokumenterad. Emellertid visar forskning att kvinnor med cancerdiagnos inte får den hjälp de önskar av sjukvården gällande sexuell hälsa. Detta faktum accentuerar behovet av att förstå vilka mekanismer som ligger bakom. Studiens syfte var att identifiera hinder och förutsättningar för samtal om sexuell hälsa mellan sjuksköterskor och kvinnor med cancerdiagnos. Studien utformades som en litteraturöversikt med kvalitativa studier. I resultatet identifierades ett antal hinder och förutsättningar för samtal om sexuell hälsa, vilka delades in i fem kategorier: vårdorganisationens betydelse för samtal om sexuell hälsa, vårdpersonalens utbildning i relation till samtal om sexuell hälsa, vårdpersonalens förmåga att undervisa och informera, rädslor och känslor inför samtal om sexuell hälsa, och attityder till och ignorans inför samtal om sexuell hälsa. Studien har visat att rädslor inför att tala om sexuell hälsa, sjuksköterskors brist på utbildning och tid är det som utgör hinder för samtal om sexuell hälsa. Förutsättningarna för samtal identifierades som utbildning och erfarenhet hos vårdpersonalen samt att ämnet adresserades av kvinnorna med cancerdiagnos. / The importance of sexuality and sexual health for human well-being is well documented. However, research shows that women diagnosed with cancer experience the care they retrieve related to these issues to be insufficient. This fact highlights the need of insight into underlying causes and mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and preconditions to communication of sexual health issues between nurses and women diagnosed with cancer. A review of qualitative, interview-based research was conducted. A series of barriers and preconditions to communication on the sexual health topic was identified and categorized into 5 groups: Organization of health-care, Educational level of staff, Care giver´s ability to teach, Fears and feelings, and Attitudes and ignorance. This review concludes fear of addressing conversation, nurse´s lack of education and time for patients to be the most obstructive elements. Education and experience of staff, and that women diagnosed with cancer addressed the subject was identified as preconditions.

The Ras signaling cascade is a vital component in the processes that mediate cell survival, growth, differentiation and transformation through activation of MAP kinase (mitogen-activated protein kinase). The recent discovery of a new scaffold of the Ras signaling pathway, Kinase Suppressor of Ras (KSR), is found to be a positive effector of Ras signaling which further contributes to proliferation and transformation in the ERK/MAPK pathway. This thesis describes the roles of Ras and Kinase Suppressor of Ras 1 (KSR-1) in regulating the expression of tumor promoting genes such as urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) in the development and progression of breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. Ras and KSR increase the proliferative capacity and migration of MDAMB-231 human breast cancer cells in vitro. In contrast, Ras and KSR decrease the invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, uPA gene expression levels do not correlate with uPA protein expression levels suggesting a possible mutation induced by KSR and/or Ras. In vivo studies reveal that Ras and KSR increase tumor volume in mice, as well as more advanced osteolytic bone metastases. Collectively, these results indicate that Ras and KSR play significant roles in breast cancer development and metastasis.