<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>The aim of this study was to describe cancer patients’ experiences of quality of life and wellbeing in relation to yoga practice.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A descriptive qualitative study with semi structured interviews was carried out during the fall of 2009 at the University of Uppsala. Informants in the study were cancer patients who were participating in the yoga/psychotherapy group at the clinic of oncology at the Akademiska hospital in Uppsala.</p><p><strong>Result:</strong> Five out of six informants experienced that their quality of life and their wellbeing improved by practicing yoga. One informant had mixed feelings which were not due to the yoga practicing, but to the place where it was practiced. For her this place was associated with illness. Informants accentuated the importance of the fellowship in the yoga/psychotherapy group. They experienced that yoga practicing could not be separated from psychotherapy and vice versa. Informants believed that yoga and psychotherapy reinforced each other’s effect. The study showed that the yoga exercises had been of great help, for example, in connection with medical examinations or as a tool to cope with one’s situation, thoughts and/or secondary effects of the disease and pain experience. The yoga had strengthened the informants both physically, psychologically and spiritually. It helped them to cope with sleeping difficulties and respiratory difficulties. The study also shed light on two aspects previously not included in yoga research: respiratory difficulties and sexuality.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study displayed that the informants experienced that yoga had a positive effect on their quality of life and wellbeing. Further studies are suggested (qualitative and quantitative) that examine the joint influence of yoga/psychotherapy on the quality of life and wellbeing as well as the aspects “Breathing difficulties” and “Sexuality”.         </p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong><em>Yoga, cancer, quality of life, wellbeing</em></p>

Background: Chemotherapy has side effects that may interfere with food intake. Children suffering from a malignant disease are subjected to treatment with chemotherapy. They may therefore become at risk of undernutrition during the period of treatment. This in turn may increase the risk of infections, delayed therapy and influence the outcome of treatment. Few studies have investigated how children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer perceive food and eating. Attempts to improve food intake and the nutritional status require an understand-ing of how eating patterns are altered during chemotherapy in children. Study design: Dietary information and anthropometric data were collected after the initiation of chemotherapy in 14 children, consecutively admitted to the Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Unit at Umeå University Hospital. This initial study resulted in the establishment of more flexible mealtime routines on the ward. A follow-up study was conducted with another group of 11 children. Interviews were performed with a third group of 21 consecutively ad-mitted children, their parents and attending nurses. The focus was on the children’s own per-ception of and their parents’ and nurses’ attitudes to their food intake during hospitalisation. Recognition thresholds for the basic tastes were determined with 10 of the oldest of these children and 10 healthy controls. Results: Before introduction of new mealtime routines, the average daily oral energy intake during hospitalisation was 58% of the Swedish Nutrition Recommendations, SNR. The chil-dren had a significant weight loss up to three months after onset of chemotherapy. After the introduction of new mealtime routines, the average daily oral intake on hospital days was 61% of SNR and thus still lower than recommended despite efforts to serve palatable food on the ward. When enteral and parenteral nutrition was included, the energy intake came close to that recommended for healthy children, 91% of SNR. Both children and parents perceived that altered taste was an important cause of the children’s eating problems. The children also viewed food aversions, nausea and vomiting and pain as important causes, while the parents perceived nausea, food aversions and altered smell as significant factors. The nurses on the other hand, viewed nausea, the ward environment, and food rejection as a way of gaining some influence over the situation as important factors. The patients had significantly higher thresholds for bitter taste and significantly more patients made mistakes in taste recognition compared with controls. Conclusion and clinical implication: There seem to be changes both in the sense of taste as well as in the perception of food in children undergoing chemotherapy for malignant disease. Thus, single solutions such as providing a variety of “tasty food” in the hospital setting in order to improve food intake does not suffice for many paediatric cancer patients. The indi-vidual’s food preferences and aversions should be considered and combinations of oral, en-teral and parenteral nutrition support should be provided.

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to describe cancer patients’ experiences of quality of life and wellbeing in relation to yoga practice. Method: A descriptive qualitative study with semi structured interviews was carried out during the fall of 2009 at the University of Uppsala. Informants in the study were cancer patients who were participating in the yoga/psychotherapy group at the clinic of oncology at the Akademiska hospital in Uppsala. Result: Five out of six informants experienced that their quality of life and their wellbeing improved by practicing yoga. One informant had mixed feelings which were not due to the yoga practicing, but to the place where it was practiced. For her this place was associated with illness. Informants accentuated the importance of the fellowship in the yoga/psychotherapy group. They experienced that yoga practicing could not be separated from psychotherapy and vice versa. Informants believed that yoga and psychotherapy reinforced each other’s effect. The study showed that the yoga exercises had been of great help, for example, in connection with medical examinations or as a tool to cope with one’s situation, thoughts and/or secondary effects of the disease and pain experience. The yoga had strengthened the informants both physically, psychologically and spiritually. It helped them to cope with sleeping difficulties and respiratory difficulties. The study also shed light on two aspects previously not included in yoga research: respiratory difficulties and sexuality. Conclusion: The study displayed that the informants experienced that yoga had a positive effect on their quality of life and wellbeing. Further studies are suggested (qualitative and quantitative) that examine the joint influence of yoga/psychotherapy on the quality of life and wellbeing as well as the aspects “Breathing difficulties” and “Sexuality”.          Keywords: Yoga, cancer, quality of life, wellbeing

Bakgrund: Fatigue är ett cancerrelaterat symtom och drabbar ca 61- 100 % av cancer patienterna. Det är en långdragen trötthet som gör det svårt för de drabbade att leva ett normalt liv. Syftet med arbetet var att belysa cancerrelaterad fatigue samt se hur patienter anpassar sig till att leva med detta cancerrelaterade symtom. Metod: En litteraturöversikt genomfördes, med artikelsökning i databaserna PubMed och Cinahl. Innehållsanalys gjordes på funna artiklar, totalt inkluderades 14 artiklar i resultatet. Resultat: Patienter fann egna strategier för att handskas med fatigue, det kunde vara att sova en stund eller distrahera sig med något annat. Patienterna ville ha information om fatigue, men kände ofta att de inte fick det av sjukvårdspersonalen, de ville också ha stöd och förståelse från sin omgivning, något som det inte alltid fick. Diskussion: Enligt författarna måste patienterna få sjukdomsinsikt och information om fatigue för att hitta sina egna strategier så inte fatigue tar över vardagen. Sjuksköterskor bör vara insatta i patienternas situation eftersom patienterna hellre vill diskutera sina problem med sjuksköterskor än läkare. Slutsats: Fatigue är ett ämne som det bör forskas mer

This work details the design and generation of a monomer specific p53 rabbit polyclonal antibody. The technique involved careful analysis of published Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR)and X-Ray structures to select an epitope buried in the wildtype tetramer of p53,while exposed in the monomer. The antibody was validated with indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay(ELISA),competition ELISA and western blot. Following these experiments, the antibody, denoted as α-tet,was employed in immunofluorescence (IF) experiments of cancer cell lines DU145 (prostate carcinoma, p53 P223L and V274F) and A549 (lung carcinoma,p53 wildtype)to determine the localization of monomeric p53. Monomeric p53 was confined to the nucleolus of DU-145 cells. Additional staining of the Golgi apparatus in both cell lines was also observed. However, upon investigation of a p53 null cell line, SKOV-3,the Golgi staining was determined to be a result of cross reactivity with another protein. Nevertheless, the presence of nucleolar monomeric p53 in DU-145 cells indicates that monomerization of p53 does occur in this cell line.

This work details the design and generation of a monomer specific p53 rabbit polyclonal antibody. The technique involved careful analysis of published Nuclear Magnetic Resonance(NMR)and X-Ray structures to select an epitope buried in the wildtype tetramer of p53,while exposed in the monomer. The antibody was validated with indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay(ELISA),competition ELISA and western blot. Following these experiments, the antibody, denoted as α-tet,was employed in immunofluorescence (IF) experiments of cancer cell lines DU145 (prostate carcinoma, p53 P223L and V274F) and A549 (lung carcinoma,p53 wildtype)to determine the localization of monomeric p53. Monomeric p53 was confined to the nucleolus of DU-145 cells. Additional staining of the Golgi apparatus in both cell lines was also observed. However, upon investigation of a p53 null cell line, SKOV-3,the Golgi staining was determined to be a result of cross reactivity with another protein. Nevertheless, the presence of nucleolar monomeric p53 in DU-145 cells indicates that monomerization of p53 does occur in this cell line.

There is an increasing need for a local comprehensive cancer treatment centre that caters primarily to children. This design proposes a paediatric facility that will be located in Waterloo Region to meet the needs of the area’s rapidly increasing population. It will serve children under the age of eighteen, their families, and the surrounding community. The proposed site will be in Floradale, a small rural community in Waterloo Region, approximately 15 km from Kitchener/Waterloo. This site is located directly adjacent to the Woolwich Reservoir and was chosen because of its close proximity to this natural environment. Although it is located in a rural area, the proposed facility is still close to the urban core and the two existing general hospitals in the region. Based on the rapid population growth of the region, the city boundaries are quickly expanding outwards, closing the gap between Floradale and Kitchener/Waterloo. The thesis offers a series of design principles that have been applied to the proposed facility. The design principals were established by completing a historical review, researching a variety of architectural precedent studies, and through various site visits to healthcare facilities. In order for the proposed paediatric facility to be a successful, functioning component of the community, it will recognize and incorporate the existing services present in Floradale and Waterloo Region and build upon them. The design explores the existing community groups, organizations, services, and community needs in order to propose a holistic approach connecting services to the healthcare facility, which will in turn enhance community vitality. The purpose of a healthcare facility is to access, treat, and heal the patients and families that visit. This design creates a facility where the natural and the built environment will aid in the healing process.

There is an increasing need for a local comprehensive cancer treatment centre that caters primarily to children. This design proposes a paediatric facility that will be located in Waterloo Region to meet the needs of the area’s rapidly increasing population. It will serve children under the age of eighteen, their families, and the surrounding community. The proposed site will be in Floradale, a small rural community in Waterloo Region, approximately 15 km from Kitchener/Waterloo. This site is located directly adjacent to the Woolwich Reservoir and was chosen because of its close proximity to this natural environment. Although it is located in a rural area, the proposed facility is still close to the urban core and the two existing general hospitals in the region. Based on the rapid population growth of the region, the city boundaries are quickly expanding outwards, closing the gap between Floradale and Kitchener/Waterloo. The thesis offers a series of design principles that have been applied to the proposed facility. The design principals were established by completing a historical review, researching a variety of architectural precedent studies, and through various site visits to healthcare facilities. In order for the proposed paediatric facility to be a successful, functioning component of the community, it will recognize and incorporate the existing services present in Floradale and Waterloo Region and build upon them. The design explores the existing community groups, organizations, services, and community needs in order to propose a holistic approach connecting services to the healthcare facility, which will in turn enhance community vitality. The purpose of a healthcare facility is to access, treat, and heal the patients and families that visit. This design creates a facility where the natural and the built environment will aid in the healing process.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3425. Adviser: Christine Miaskowski.

Thesis (D.P.T.Sc.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3472. Adviser: Kimberly Topp.