Source: University of Rochester From: futurity.org For women with breast cancer, frailty is linked to inflammation levels in the blood, according to a new study. Higher inflammation prior to chemotherapy can predict frailty after chemotherapy ends, the researchers report. Characterized by weakness, fatigue, weight loss, and slow walking speed, frailty is associated with cancer and its treatments. Scientists are studying …
Financial Toxicity Linked to QOL After Breast Cancer Surgery
Source: Physician’s Briefing Staff From: healthday.com Strongest correlation seen for BREAST-Q psychosocial well-being, with 0.89 change per unit change in financial toxicity score Financial toxicity (FT) is associated with worse quality of life (QOL) for breast cancer patients after mastectomy or lumpectomy, according to a study published online Dec. 11 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Christopher …
Good clinical outcomes only a part of breast cancer recovery
From: sabcsmeetingnews.org Recovering from breast cancer means more than good clinical outcomes. The overarching goal is good quality of life, which means balancing clinical outcomes with treatment toxicities while preserving a positive body image, good sexual health and, for patients who want it, the opportunity for biological children. “Local therapy can cause pain and lymphedema while systemic treatment can cause …
5 Psychosocial Factors to Discuss With Breast Cancer Survivors
By: Steve Fiorillo From: cancertherapyadvisor.com Patients with breast cancer have a greater chance of survival now than in decades past. Per data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2001 and 2016 had a 5-year survival rate of 89%.¹ As diagnostic testing is finding breast cancer earlier, and new …
Study shows importance of Quality of Life scores as prognostic factors in cancer patients
Source: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer From: eurekalert.org Cancer patients own reporting of their quality of life can be important in predicting the outcome of their disease, say researchers from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Until recently, reports from clinicians on issues such as patient age and tumour status were used primarily …
Driving change in medicine
By: Todd Shryock From: medicaleconomics.com In this environment, it should come as no surprise that for the second straight year, the 2018 Medical Economics Payer Scorecard shows that physicians are greatly dissatisfied with the policies payers implement, many of which cost them both time and money. The healthcare system is too focused on reducing costs and improving payer bottom lines, says …
Targeted radiotherapy for breast cancer offers good quality of life and fewer side effects
Source: EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR RADIOTHERAPY AND ONCOLOGY (ESTRO) From: eurekalert.org Quality of life for women treated with a more targeted radiotherapy treatment – called accelerated partial breast irradiation – is at least as good as quality of life for women treated with standard radiotherapy, according to research presented at the ESTRO 37 conference and published simultaneously in The Lancet Oncology [1]. The treatment uses …
Need for supportive care in oncology will increase during the next decade
From: GlobalData The need for effective supportive care in oncology will increase in the next decade as patients continue to live longer and cancer progresses to become more like a chronic disease. This includes the need for chemotherapy-related conditions, as chemotherapy will remain the backbone of cancer therapy for the foreseeable future, observes GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. …
Finances Weigh Heavily on Older Cancer Patients
By: Charles Bankhead From: medpagetoday.com Despite access to Medicare in most cases, older patients with cancer remained deeply concerned about financial burdens from their medical care, a survey of almost 1,500 patients showed. Financial hardship had a consistent and significantly negative impact on older patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Symptoms, disability, lack of emotional support, and other factors also …
Older Breast Cancer Patients Require Special Consideration
By: Elizabeth Gardner From: onclive.com Treating older patients with HER2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) must include more quality of life considerations and different types of survival calculations, even when the basic tools and treatment regimens are similar to those used in younger patients, according to a talk at the 2017 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium. “The real question isn’t …