Pathways to distress: the multiple determinants of depression, hopelessness, and the desire for hastened death in metastatic cancer patients.

Goals of the work:
To evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments for depression in cancer populations

The treatment of depression in cancer patients : a systematic review

Pain is the most common symptom of disease, which accompanies us from an early age. It is a protective mechanism to which the body responds to harmful stimulus. The definition of pain states that it is a subjective sensory and emotional experience. It is connected to the stimulus that it invokes and is also based on the observation of psychological interpretation of the phenomena taking place. Pain is individual for each person. Pain affects both our previous experience of pain and psychosomatic conditions, depending on the relationship between the psyche and the body. Pain is always an unpleasant sensation. The feeling of pain can be caused by irritation of pain receptors, which can be found in the skin, joints and many internal organs. The cause of pain may also be damage to the nervous system, both the peripheral nerves, brain and spinal cord. Pain can also occur without damage to tissues, although the patient refers to it (psychogenic pain). The process of pain is a complex phenomenon. Experience of pain depends on the strength of the stimulus, individual susceptibility and individual resistance to pain. Pain receptors are sensitive to mechanical, thermal or chemical stimuli. The operation of noxious stimulus to these receptors results in the processing into an electrical signal. This impulse is conducted by nerve fibress into the spinal cord and then to the brain. At this point, there is the realization that something hurts us. Pain is not only somatic in nature, associated with the condition of the body, but it is a multidimensional phenomenon. Therefore, in addition to the physiological process of pain, its subjective perception is also important, which is decided by the central nervous system. It consists of the emotional aspects: suffering and attitude towards pain and pain expression. A review of pain physiology is essential to fully understand the principles of pain management.

http://www.aaem.pl/pdf-106177-36932?filename=Assessment of pain_.pdf

Assessment of pain: types, mechanism and treatment

Purpose: The randomized study aimed to determine the efficacy of psychological intervention consisting of relaxation and guided imagery to reduce anxiety and depression in gynecologic and breast cancer patients undergoing brachytherapy during hospitalization.

Methods and materials: Sixty-six patients programmed to receive brachytherapy in two hospitals in Barcelona (Spain) were included in this study. The patients were randomly allocated to either the study group (n=32) or the control group (n=34). Patients in both groups received training regarding brachytherapy, but only study group patients received training in relaxation and guided imagery. After collection of sociodemographic data, all patients were given a set of questionnaires on anxiety and depression: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and on quality of life: Cuestionario de Calidad de Vida QL-CA-AFex (CCV), prior to, during and after brachytherapy.

Results: The study group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in anxiety (p=0.008), depression (p=0.03) and body discomfort (p=0.04) compared with the control group.

Conclusions: The use of relaxation techniques and guided imagery is effective in reducing the levels of anxiety, depression and body discomfort in patients who must remain isolated while undergoing brachytherapy. This simple and inexpensive intervention enhances the psychological wellness in patients undergoing brachytherapy.

State: This study has passed Ethical Committee review. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A randomized trial of the effect of training in relaxation and guided imagery techniques in improving psychological and quality-of-life indices for gynecologic and breast brachytherapy patients.

Patients with cancer experience many acute and chronic pain syndromes, the identification of which may be helpful in the assessment and treatment of pain. Syndromes are defined by the relationship with the cancer, the pain pathophysiology, and the clinical characteristics of the pain. The most common pain syndromes are directly related to the tumor; bone pain syndromes are most common. Neuropathic pain syndromes may involve cancer-related injury at any level of the peripheral nervous system. Treatment-related pain syndromes may follow any type of antineoplastic therapy. This article reviews the phenomenology of common acute and chronic cancer pain syndromes.

Cancer Pain Syndromes

The present study was designed to explore the extent to which advanced cancer pain is explicable in terms of both physical pain intensity and affect. Most notably, it expanded on previous findings by more clearly elucidating the relationship between several discrete emotional states and the total experience of cancer pain. One hundred and eleven patients with cancer pain attending a Pain and Symptom Control Clinic were studied. Visual Analogue Scales (VASs) were used to quantify overall pain intensity and the accompanying affect. Then, correlations were calculated to evaluate the relationships both between and within these two variables. Overall, the participants rated both the pain intensity and the negative affect associated with that pain as high. Of the examined affective components of pain, frustration and exhaustion were found to be the most significant. In addition, some gender differences were identified in terms of frustration, anger, fear, exhaustion, helplessness, and hopelessness.

Sensory and affective dimensions of advanced cancer pain.

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Sensory and affective dimensions of advanced cancer pain.