2 results
Emotional processing during psychotherapy among women newly diagnosed with a gynecological cancer
- Sharon L. Manne, Shannon Myers-Virtue, Katie Darabos, Melissa Ozga, Carolyn Heckman, David Kissane, David Rotter
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- Journal:
- Palliative & Supportive Care / Volume 15 / Issue 4 / August 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 14 December 2016, pp. 405-416
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- Article
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Objective:
Our aim was to compare changes in emotional processing by women newly diagnosed with gynecological cancer enrolled in either a coping and communication skills intervention (CCI) or a supportive counseling (SC) intervention. We examined the association between in-session emotional processing and patient-rated therapeutic progress.
Method:Three therapy sessions with 201 patients were rated for the depth of emotional processing (peak and mode) during emotion episodes (EEs) using the Experiencing Rating Scale (EXP). Participants completed measures of dispositional emotional expressivity, depressive symptoms, and cancer-related distress before treatment began, as well as ratings of perceived progress in therapy after each session.
Results:Peak EXP ratings averaged between 2.7 and 3.1, indicating that women discussed events, their emotional reactions, and their private experiences in sessions. A small proportion of patients had high levels of processing, indicating deeper exploration of the meaning of their feelings and experiences. Women in SC were able to achieve a higher level of emotional processing during the middle and later sessions, and during cancer-related EEs in the later session. However, emotional processing was not significantly associated with a patient's perceived therapeutic progress with SC. In the CCI group, higher levels of emotional processing were associated with greater session progress, suggesting that it may play an important role in patient-rated treatment outcomes.
Significance of results:Newly diagnosed gynecological cancer patients are able to attend to their emotions and personal experiences, particularly when discussing cancer-related issues during both short-term SC and prescriptive coping skills interventions.
A systematic review of ovarian cancer and fear of recurrence
- Melissa Ozga, Carol Aghajanian, Shannon Myers-Virtue, Glynnis McDonnell, Sabrina Jhanwar, Shira Hichenberg, Isabel Sulimanoff
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- Journal:
- Palliative & Supportive Care / Volume 13 / Issue 6 / December 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 March 2015, pp. 1771-1780
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Objective:
To assess demographic, medical, and psychological factors that are associated with fear of recurrence (FCR) in ovarian cancer patients.
Method:We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. For PubMed, a search using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) was run, as well as a text-word search from 1990 to July of 2014. The search terms used consisted of ovarian terms, fear terms, and recurrence/progression themes. Title and abstract reviews were conducted by two independent reviewers to determine eligibility, and discrepancies were decided by a third reviewer. Full-text reviews of potentially eligible articles were conducted by the review team, which met regularly to ensure the reliability of eligibility ratings across all articles.
Results:A total of 15 articles met our inclusion criteria. Nine were quantitative studies that utilized a cross-sectional design, and the other six included three qualitative studies, two small intervention studies, and one study that utilized content analysis to explore written correspondence among ovarian cancer patients. FCR was reported as a significant concern for both older and younger women at both early and advanced stages. Women were distressed about recurrence at various times during their treatment and posttreatment. FCR was noted to be prevalent around cancer follow-up examinations. Many women reported not receiving adequate support for recurrence. FCR was also shown to be linked in some way to hopelessness, faith/spirituality, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). FCR was also linked to patients' anxiety about death and dying and uncertainty about the future of their medical health.
Significance of Results:This review demonstrates that FCR is prevalent in the ovarian cancer population. Moreover, cancer recurrence fears are not adequately assessed or treated. More information is needed on the factors that may be related to women's fears about recurrence of ovarian cancer. In addition, a validated measure of FCR among ovarian cancer patients as well as a treatment intervention are needed.