Educational programs covering the technical, treatment and emotional aspects of a cancer diagnosis have been shown to reduce anxiety levels, boost compliance with treatment regimens and improve survival rates. This study was designed to evaluate whether newly diagnosed cancer patients, after reviewing an educational intervention, felt they experienced decreased stress levels and more informed decision making ability. A descriptive, evaluative study was designed. Seventy-five newly diagnosed cancer patient's evaluation forms were examined. Responses were reviewed to see if these patients placed an important versus unimportant value on the individual components of an educational packet. Their responses were tallied and the results showed that an overwhelming majority of the patients felt that the packet components were important in helping them feel decreased stress levels and more informed in their decision making regarding their diagnosis of cancer. It was also determined that the majority of patients felt that the packet components were easy to understand. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

No description available.

The kind of diseases affecting Japanese people and the causes of death in Japan have changed a great deal in the last several decades due to various factors, most notably the advancement of medical technology and changes in life style. The number of people who die from life style diseases such as cancer, which are chronic and possibly need long-term hospitalization, increases every year. In the 1970s the hospice philosophy was introduced to Japan from the West. It encourages patients and their families to affirm life and to regard dying as a normal process, and offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible and sustain a sense of selfhood, autonomy, and dignity until they die. In practice, however, the dying process is still not regarded as normal in contemporary Japan and many patients fail to die in the way proposed by the hospice philosophy. There is also disagreement between the patients and the medical professionals regarding their respective idea of good death. Hospices and PCUs, which were initially developed in order to provide humane care, have become places which provide a new form of institutionalized death, and consequently constrain the patients' dying patterns. In this thesis, I investigate the above issues from the perspectives of the anthropology and the ethnography of Japan. I demonstrate how the framework of van Gennep's rites of passage and Turner's concept of liminality can be used to analyze the current situation in Japanese hospice settings. I also perform an ethnographic analysis of Japanese attitudes towards health, illness, and death in order to illustrate the reasons why some Japanese patients fail to die a good death as proposed by the hospice philosophy.

Cancer is often considered more frightening than other equally lethal diseases. There is a mythology surrounding cancer, with many superstitious beliefs. Cancer is associated with prolonged suffering, with wasting away, and with a slow lingering death. Cancer includes multiple physical needs, intense psychological distress manifested by pain, anxiety and depression and restrictions in social and sexual functioning for both the cancer patient and the relative. Cancer can increasingly be characterised as a chronic disease with considerable, continuing and fluctuating specific needs and problems for patients as well as their families. There is an obvious need for research on the family’s experience, essential to gain a better understanding of their emotions and needs. Most research has been performed among family members of the frail elderly or cognitively impaired patients. Research focusing exclusively on the caregiving process involving cancer patients and their families is scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe family members’ experiences, and their specific needs in relation to the relative with cancer. The research design was based on qualitative research because of its exploratory, descriptive and contextual nature. The collection of the data was done by means of individual interviews and field notes reflecting the observation done during the interviews. The analysis of the data was done according to Tesch’s approach of data reduction. Literature was used to compare and complement the results. Applying Guba’s model on trustworthiness ensured the trustworthiness of the research. The results of the fieldwork indicated the following themes and categories: • Emotional experiences of the family members of a cancer patient • Uncertainty about how to relate to and care for the cancer patient. • Variety of emotions stemming from their experience with a cancer patient. • Family members express their specific needs. • Need to understand the nature and implications of the patient’s cancer. • Need to understand the impact on the family dynamics. • Need to gain insight into their personal relationships with the cancer patient. Based on these findings, guidelines were presented for the development of a psycho-educational programme to assist family members of cancer patients. / Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh

　　The experience of cancer challenges the body and the mind. A solid body of evidence has amassed on what help breast cancer patients cope with adversities. In the field of positive psychology, the concepts of hope and optimism further our understanding of the role future expectancies play in goal-directed pursuits and in psychological adjustment to adverse events. 　　Snyder’s theory of hope (2002) conceptualizes that goal directed behaviours have two components -- pathways and agency thinking. Pathways thinking is associated with finding the routes to achieve a desired goal. Agency thinking provides the mental energy to initiate and persist in pursuing goals. Hope is consistently linked with better outcomes in academics, athletic, health care and community settings (Snyder et al., 2005). 　　The literature on optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1985) describes the characteristics of optimists and pessimists. Optimists hold positive future expectancies with positive emotions keeping individuals actively engaged in their goals despite frustrations. Pessimists are more inclined to use avoidant coping in response to the negative emotions engendered in their negative expectancies. 　　In the present project, hope and optimism are investigated in a group of breast cancer patients who are recently diagnosed with recurrent, advanced or metastatic disease in Hong Kong. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no other studies have investigated future expectancies in advanced breast cancer patients in a longitudinal design. Findings suggested that agency hope and optimism together account for 27 - 29% of the variation in concurrent distress; and 52 - 54% of the distress three months later. Optimism was an independent predictor of concurrent and three-month psychological distress. However agency hope was not an independent predictor. The results of the present study are compared with a published study (Ho, et al., 2011) of hope and optimism in a group of oral cavity cancer survivors, who did not have an active disease. In both the advanced breast and oral cavity cancer patient groups, hope and optimism together predicted distress. But optimism was a stronger predictor relative to agency hope in the advanced breast cancer patients whose disease outcome was less certain. 　　The present study also attempts to decipher the cognitive processes postulated to be mediators in the relationship between future expectancies and psychological adjustment. In the advanced breast cancer group, attention to negative information mediated the relationship between optimism and concurrent anxiety and depression. In the oral cavity cancer survivors, negative cancer-related rumination mediated in the relationship between agency hope and depression, and in the relationship between optimism and anxiety and depression. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of the possible different cognitive processes of patients who are faced with two different disease conditions. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

Breast cancer patients consistently reported psychosocial adjustment difficulty in their sense of femininity after breast removal surgery. In view of this, the present study aimed to explore the effects of three femininity-related concepts on emotional reactions towards breast removal surgery – femininity schema, femininity loss appraisals, and femininity contingency of self-worth. 212 women without breast cancer history participated in this study. They completed a questionnaire which included a hypothetical scenario of breast removal. Results showed that women who considered the breast of a high relative importance in femininity schema, and depended their self-worth highly on sense of femininity, reported greater increase in negative emotions after hypothetical breast removal. This effect was mediated by femininity loss appraisals. Implications and future directions were discussed. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

In view of the increasing prevalence of female breast cancer in the global and local arenas, this disease has become a critical problem affecting women’s physical, psychological, spiritual and social conditions. With medical technology advancements, women can receive early diagnosis and effective treatment. However, maladjusted rehabilitation affects women’s long-term recovery. In order to improve women’s rehabilitation, more attention is being paid to breast cancer survivorship care after treatment. Therefore, how women experience and perceive breast cancer during the transition period is the important information for us to understand women’s breast cancer survivorship. The present study aims to explore how women perceive their breast cancer experiences during the transition period from a holistic perspective. This study adopted the qualitative inquiry approach. Movement-based focus group design was the present research design, in which dance/movement activities and group discussions were included. It is based on the belief that expressing through dance/movement enables an individual to reveal the experiences which have been stored in the body. Four focus groups were used, with a total of twenty recruited informants. Data collected from the focus group interviews included verbal (transcriptions) and non-verbal (writing/drawing and created body shapes) expressions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the ATLAS.ti 7 qualitative data analysis software. The findings indicated that women's descriptions of their experiences during the transition period were associated with bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and self and social relational perspectives. Five domains (bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and self and social relational experiences) were generated after data processing. Analysis of the contents in each domain reveals the body-mind-spirit connection. During this period, women consider their health and exercise to be important, they were relaxed and happy, they reflected more, they searched for purpose and meaning in life, and they appreciated developing relationships with others and self. Furthermore, the results showed that these women attained self-growth through their breast cancer experiences. Nevertheless, the self-growth areas and pace were different for each individual. The results also revealed that the non-verbal information (writing/drawings and created body shapes) enriched the women’s expression by illustrating their in-depth or hidden breast cancer experiences. The results provide practitioners with insight and direction into designing rehabilitation programmes for breast cancer survivors. Therefore, the contents of the programme include not only psychosocial aspects but also bodily, cognitive and spiritual perspectives. Furthermore, the present movement-based focus group demonstrated the use of non-verbal expressions, as well as dance/movement, to enhance communication. To conclude, this study sheds light on our understanding of women’s breast cancer experiences during the transition period, as well as on the use of the movement-based focus group research method. The present practice and experiences may contribute to qualitative research and psychosocial oncology research. Further research with larger sample size is recommended. The present methodology can also be extended to other cancer populations such as cervical cancer survivors. Furthermore, studies examining the additional benefits of using movement in focus group interview are also recommended. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Philosophy