The importance of palliative care in cancer care is underscored, yet there is a significant gap in research specifically focusing on the role of social workers in palliative cancer care. This qualitative study aims to better articulate the specific roles of social workers within palliative oncology settings.

Data were collected by semi-structured Zoom interviews with social workers in palliative cancer care between November 2023 and January 2024. Thematic analysis was used to identify unique themes.

Ten social workers in palliative cancer care were recruited for this study. Eight key themes related to social workers’ role emerged from the interviews. These were the following: (1) mapping out holistic needs through a biopsychosocial–spiritual assessment, (2) providing individual and family counseling, (3) patient and family psychoeducation, (4) resource identification and referral, (5) building communication bridges between patients, families, and oncology teams, (6) promoting patient and family engagement and voice in shared decision-making in cancer care, (7) providing anticipatory grief and bereavement counseling, and (8) strengthening team resilience and fostering well-being.

This study builds upon prior work by focusing specifically on the roles of palliative care social workers in oncology. The findings highlight the multifaceted roles of social workers, demonstrating their capacity to deliver holistic care to cancer patients, families, and healthcare providers to enhance quality of care. The findings may help inform the development of training curricula and practice standards for the subspecialty of oncology-focused palliative social work.

To investigate whether taste perception of two artificial sweeteners—aspartame and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC)—is causally associated with the risk of site-specific cancers.

A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study.

Genetic instruments for taste perception (6 for aspartame; 13 for NHDC) were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Australian adolescents, and cancer outcome data were sourced from publicly available GWAS datasets.

Genetic data for taste perception from 1,757 Australian adolescents and genetic data for cancers from large-scale GWAS cohorts, including UK Biobank (n=500,000) and FinnGen (n=500,000).

A one standard deviation increase in the genetically predicted perceived intensity of NHDC was associated with an increased risk of male genital cancer (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04–1.19) and prostate cancer (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.08) based on FinnGen data. These associations persisted after multivariable MR adjustment for glucose and aspartame perception but were not replicated in the UK Biobank. A weak protective association between aspartame perception and cervical cancer (OR = 0.998, 95% CI: 0.997–0.999) was observed, but this attenuated to null in sensitivity analyses.

This study found no compelling evidence that perception of aspartame or NHDC during adolescence causally influences later-life cancer risk. The findings highlight the importance of evaluating individual artificial sweeteners separately in future research examining potential health effects.

Communicating a cancer diagnosis to a child is a complex challenge for parents. This study aims to explore (1) the communication strategies and beliefs of parents with cancer when communicating with their children and (2) the needs of these parents.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents with cancer being treated at an Italian comprehensive cancer center and their healthy partners, when present. The interviews were analyzed through a constructivist approach using reflexive thematic analysis. The number of parents to be interviewed was not predetermined, but the meaning saturation procedure was followed.

Ten parents were interviewed, meaning saturation was reached at the seventh interview. Five themes were created: (1) the challenges parents faced at this sensitive time; (2) the emotions parents experienced; (3) the beliefs that may have influenced how they communicate the illness to their children; (4) the strategies parents used to communicate the illness to their children and (5) parents’ perception of their children’s understanding of the illness. Fifty-seven needs, often unmet, were also identified and were grouped into three categories: (1) “existential” needs; (2) support needs; and (3) needs related to continuing to be and act as parents.

This study provides important insights for healthcare professionals to consider in order to better support and care for these parents.

Unpaid cancer caregivers (UCCs) are the primary caretakers of individuals with cancer, often shouldering caregiver responsibilities without prior preparation, which leads to a sense of isolation, particularly in remote and rural areas where healthcare access is challenging. Thus, this systematic review aimed to explore the perceived and/or received peer support needs of UCCs residing in rural and remote areas with a specific focus on informational, practical, and emotional needs.

Seven databases (CINAHL, ScienceDirect, PUBMED/MEDLINE, PROQUEST, Web of Science, Scopus, and Informit) were searched from 2004 to 2024. Peer-reviewed qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies published in English were considered for this review. Data were extracted using the Joanna Briggs Institute System for Unified Management, Assessment, and Review of Information and presented using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. Quality and bias were assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

In total, 8 primary studies were included: 4 qualitative, 2 mixed methods, 1 cross-sectional, and 1 prospective survey. Four themes were identified: (1) Emotional, practical, and informational unmet needs; (2) Lack of peer support on the physical and emotional well-being of UCCs in remote and rural areas; (3) Lack of supportive services in remote and rural areas; and (4) Access to flexible peer support.

This review revealed the unique unmet needs of UCCs in remote and rural areas, where a lack of reliable and accessible resources adversely leads to impaired UCCs’ overall well-being. Addressing these unmet needs is essential to enhance the support system for UCCs living in such regions. By identifying the gaps, the review underscores the need for developing a peer support model tailored to the specific needs of UCCs in rural and remote communities.

This study examined the changes in intimacy and sexuality amongst cancer patients at the end of life, including those in the final stage, and the distress they raised while experiencing those changes.

A phenomenological qualitative study, based on interviews with 35 dying cancer patients. The results were analyzed by Constant Comparison Analysis method.

Some of the dying patients reported absence of essential change in their sexual needs and ability. while others reported about changes. The changes caused seven various forms of distress to the majority of patients, for example grief due to diminution of sexuality, impact on the partner due to lack of sex and distress resulting from consciousness of the end of life. A minority did not experience distress from the sexuality changes. About a third of the interviewees were interested in sexual counseling during their dying period, and about 80% considered it important for the palliative care team to raise the issue of sexuality.

End of life patients and even those in final stages may have needs related to their intimate and sexual life. As long as the person breathes, even towards death, he can continue to live, even in the intimate aspect, so the palliative team has an important role in answering the specific and complex needs related to sexuality at the end of life. Recommendations were formulated specifically based on this research, for professional intervention regarding sexuality at the end of life, by a PASSION model.

Patients’ involvement in the decision-making process is essential for shared decision-making and optimal patient-centered care. However, when there are concerns about a patient’s cognition and judgmen, the complexity of providing patient-centered care increases. It is often necessary to evaluate patients’ decision-making capacity (DMC) to determine whether they are able to make a particular decision or whether to rely on their previously expressed wishes or the patient’s caregivers.

In this article, we present a case of an older adult with colon cancer who presented to the emergency room.

We describe how multidisciplinary care can enhance the evaluation of DMC and improve quality of care for older patients with advanced cancer.

Multidisciplinary discussions and good communication skills are essential for navigating these complex situations, reducing potential harm and maximizimizing quality of life.

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between cancer patients’ spiritual needs and their quality of life and depression levels.

This cross-sectional, exploratory study was conducted between March 2023 and November 2024. The study population consisted of cancer patients hospitalized in medical oncology departments at a university hospital in eastern Turkey. The sample consisted of 250 patients, determined by power analysis. To collect data, the “Demographic Information Form,” “Spiritual Needs Assessment Scale,” “EORTC QLQ-C30 Version 3.0 Quality of Life Scale,” and “Beck Depression Scale” were used to evaluate the patients’ sociodemographic characteristics and disease process.

There was a weak, negative, statistically significant relationship between patients’ spiritual needs and the subdimensions of the quality of life scale, specifically the general perceived health status (r = −0.297, p < 0.001), physical (r = −0.446, p < 0.001), role (r = −0.423, p < 0.001), emotional (r = −0.472, p < 0.001), cognitive (r = −0.458, p < 0.001) and social (r = −0.443, p < 0.001) functions, and finally, a weak positive correlation was found between the symptoms experienced (r = 0.376, p < 0.001) and depression levels. Additionally, a weak positive correlation between spiritual needs and depression level (r = 0.374, p < 0.001) was identified. Functional areas, depression, education level, diagnosis duration, and symptoms were identified as variables predicting spiritual needs.

In conclusion, it was determined that as the spiritual needs of cancer patients increased, their quality of life decreased and the severity of depression increased.

Diagnosis of cancer can be a stressful and life-threatening event that is associated with suicide risk.

To investigate how suicide risk changes over time after cancer diagnosis, and, specifically, when it becomes similar to that of matched controls.

Using a nationwide population-based database, we identified a total of 171 474 individuals aged ≥20 years newly diagnosed with cancer between 2009 and 2017 and 1:5 age- and sex-matched controls. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) with 95% confidence intervals of suicide in cancer patients for the full period and with a 1- to 5-year lag period.

During a mean follow-up of 6.7 years, 0.3% of cancer patients (491 of 171 474) died by suicide, with incidence rates of 0.4 per 1000 person-years. Cancer patients had higher risk of suicide (aHR 1.64, 95% CI 1.48–1.81) compared with matched controls. Suicide risk remained higher than that of matched controls with a 1- or 2-year lag period (aHR 1.38, 95% CI 1.23–1.55 and aHR 1.32, 95% CI 1.16–1.50, respectively), but there was no significant difference with a 5-year lag period (aHR 1.13, 95% CI 0.93–1.38). However, those with haematologic cancers were at higher suicide risk than matched controls even 5 years after diagnosis (e.g. aHR 9.26, 95% CI 1.30–65.87 for Hodgkin lymphoma).

In cancer patients, suicide risk remained elevated for several years after diagnosis, but decreased over time and became similar to that of matched controls after 5 years. However, the temporal pattern varied by cancer type, and suicide risk remained high for patients with haematological cancers. Suicide risk screening is necessary from the time of cancer diagnosis, even in long-term survivors.

This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ experiences with using the PRO Palliative Care questionnaire (PRO-Pall) to identify palliative care symptoms and problems in non-specialized palliative care settings among patients with heart, lung, and kidney disease, and cancer. The study also investigated the PRO-Pall’s potential to ensure further initiatives and care.

A national, multicenter, observational study employing a mixed-methods approach. It includes quantitative analysis using an evaluation survey (n = 286) and qualitative analysis from workshops (n = 11). Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically.

Quantitative and qualitative data were organized according to 3 a priori-defined themes: Theme 1: Assessment of palliative symptoms, Theme 2: Support for dialogue, and Theme 3: Timely initiation of initiatives and care. The evaluation survey and qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals indicated that it was valuable to use PRO-Pall in a non-specialist palliative context to screen for symptoms and problems, as well as to initiate actions. PRO-Pall helped to structure the dialogue and had a positive effect on the quality of the conversation.

The findings highlight that it can be valuable to utilize the PRO-Pall in general palliative care settings for patients with heart, lung, or kidney diseases as well as cancer. When implementing PRO-Pall in practice, it is crucial to carefully consider the entire process, from administering the questionnaire to planning initiatives informed by patients’ PRO responses.