1. Predictors of symptom distress in women with breast cancer during the first chemotherapy cycle.
- Author
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Boehmke MM and Brown JK
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Attitude to Health, Body Image, Female, Humans, Internal-External Control, Linear Models, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Nausea etiology, New York, Nursing Methodology Research, Pain etiology, Predictive Value of Tests, Quality of Life, Risk Factors, Surveys and Questionnaires, Trust, Antineoplastic Agents adverse effects, Breast Neoplasms complications, Breast Neoplasms drug therapy, Breast Neoplasms psychology, Fatigue etiology, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders etiology, Stress, Psychological etiology
- Abstract
Purpose: To determine the extent to which personal characteristics and "person factors" predict symptom distress during the first cycle of chemotherapy., Design: Prospective, longitudinal, correlational., Sample and Setting: 120 women with Stage I and II breast cancer starting their first cycle of chemotherapy were recruited from six diverse oncology settings., Methods: Self-report questionnaires were completed prior to the beginning, the nadir, and the end of the first chemotherapy cycles., Main Research Variables: Personal characteristics, "person factors", and symptom distress., Findings: Optimism and external locus of control predicted low symptom distress levels at the both the nadir and at the end of the first cycle. Fatigue, appearance, and insomnia caused the greatest distress with higher symptom distress scores reported at the nadir with a mean item score of 1.98 on a five-point Likert scale., Conclusions: Women who maintained a positive outlook, and trusted their health care providers experienced lower levels of symptom distress. Findings suggest that most women experienced some symptom distress, particularly during the middle of the first cycle of chemotherapy.
- Published
- 2005
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