A proof-of-concept study of iCope: A nurse-led psychoeducational telephone intervention for women attending a rapid diagnostic centre for breast abnormality.

The period between the initial discovery of a suspicious breast lesion and a confirmed diagnosis is a time of significant psychological distress, heightened anxiety, and uncertainty for many women. This proof of concept (PoC) study explored the clinical outcomes and acceptability of iCope, a nurse-led psycho-educational telephone intervention aimed to assist with uncertainty, anxiety and coping in women going through a Rapid Diagnostic Centre (RDC) offering quick diagnosis of breast cancer (same day to three-day post-investigation). Guided by the Uncertainty Theory, and using a one-arm pretest-posttest design, two brief 15-minute telephone sessions were delivered by a nurse prior to the women's day of testing at the RDC and three days after the receipt of their results. Six women completed measures of anxiety, uncertainty, and coping before the clinic visit, three days and three weeks after receiving their test results. Results show that the implementation of the telephone intervention was challenging, yet may offer potential for positive impact. That is, trends of decreased uncertainty and anxiety in participants over time were noted. Considering the difficulty observed in the recruitment and delivering the two interventions in the timeline planned, feasibility testing is recommended before the conduct of a large-scale study.

Fear of cancer recurrence therapy (FORT): A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Most fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) interventions have small effects, and few target FCR. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) with breast and gynecological cancer survivors evaluated the efficacy of a cognitive-existential fear of recurrence therapy (FORT) compared to an attention placebo control group (living well with cancer [LWWC]) on FCR. METHOD: One hundred and sixty-four women with clinical levels of FCR and cancer distress were randomly assigned to 6-weekly, 120 min FORT (n = 80) or LWWC (n = 84) group sessions. They completed questionnaires at baseline (T1), posttreatment (T2; primary endpoint), 3 (T3), and 6 months (T4) posttreatment. Generalized linear models were used to compare group differences in the fear of cancer recurrence inventory (FCRI) total score and secondary outcomes. RESULTS: FORT participants experienced greater reductions from T1 to T2 on FCRI total with a between-group difference of -9.48 points (p = .0393), resulting in a medium effect of -0.530, with a maintained effect at T3 (p = .0330) but not at T4. For the secondary outcomes, improvements were in favor of FORT, including FCRI triggers (p = .0208), FCRI coping (p = .0351), cognitive avoidance (p = .0155), need for reassurance from physicians (p = .0117), and quality of life (mental health; p = .0147). CONCLUSIONS: This RCT demonstrated that FORT, compared to an attention placebo control group, resulted in a greater reduction in FCR posttreatment and at 3 months posttreatment in women with breast and gynecological cancer, indicating its potential as a new treatment strategy. We recommend a booster session to sustain gains. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Social support for breast cancer management among Portuguese-speaking immigrant women.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer among women in Canada. Much health sciences research has examined this topic. The importance of formal and informal social support in managing breast cancer has received particular attention, but research with immigrant women has been limited. This article presents the findings of an applied ethnographic study conducted in Toronto, Canada, with 12 Portuguese-speaking women from Brazil, Portugal, and Angola about their need for, access to, and use of social support in the management of breast cancer. The key findings pertain to cancer-related fears and stigma that restrict access to and use of informal social support, barriers to obtaining formal social support, and women's resilience in the context of limited informal and formal social support. Implications for healthcare providers are presented at micro, meso, and macro levels.

Mentors' and mentees' intellectual-partnership through the lens of the Transformative Learning Theory.

In this paper we report reflections about the scholarly mentoring experiences of undergraduate nursing students (mentees) and faculty members (mentors) involved in an intellectual partnership at a Canadian university. The paper specifically recounts the impacts of the transformative process experienced by 18 mentees and three mentors, based on their in-depth written critical reflections. In this collaborative initiative, the constructivist framework of Shor and Freire, and Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory, served as foundations for all interactions between mentees and mentors, and guided the analysis and interpretation of their written self-reflections. Mentees and mentors were motivated by complementary goals for the intellectual relationships. Their combined contexts, self-reflective, critical dialogue, shared assumptions and ideas worked to ignite a critical awareness of their potential and self in their professional world. Sharing new ways of thinking and points of view stimulated their transformation on various levels -emotional, cognitive, and spiritual.

Explorando potencialidades para a criação de rede de apoio social a mulheres lusófonas com câncer de mama e que vivem em Toronto, Canadá / Exploring potentialities for the creation of a social support network for Portuguese-Speaking women with breast cancer and who live in Toronto, Canada

Introdução: Indicadores gerais de saúde tendem a alterarem-se devido à participação de indivíduos em redes sociais. Objetivo: Conhecer as ideias dos membros de comunidades lusófonas em Toronto, Canadá, sobre a possibilidade da criação de uma rede de apoio social a mulheres com câncer de mama. Método: Estudo etnográfico crítico com 19 participantes que opinaram sobre a construção de uma rede de apoio social, pontos positivos e negativos, bem como pessoas a serem convidadas a ajudar. As discussões foram transcritas, analisadas e codificadas com o auxílio do programa de análise qualitativa Atlas ti 6.0. Resultados: Os componentes fundamentais para a construção da rede de apoio social foram a desmistificação do câncer de mama e de sua prevenção, ênfase na educação em saúde, divulgação da necessidade de voluntários e apoio social direto às mulheres com câncer. Os pontos positivos seriam a participaçãode mulheres mais idosas como líderes, uso do ambiente escolar e das instituições religiosas para a divulgação. Os empecilhos encontrados foram o câncer de mama ser uma doença vivida pelas mulheres, o desconhecimento relativo à cura e à falta de sensibilização. Em relação à participação de lideranças comunitárias, houve sugestão de diplomatas,padres e pastores, diretores de escolas e empresários da área da comunicação. Conclusão: A criação da rede de apoiosocial deve considerar a sensibilidade cultural e a diversidade interna das comunidades lusófonas. A recomendação é de que líderes sociais e profissionais angolanos sejam convidados para delinear a estrutura da rede de apoio conforme seus traços culturais específicos

Introduction:Health indicators tend to be altered due to the participation of people in social networks. Objective:to find out ideas of individuals belonging to Portuguese speaking communities in toronto,canada, about the possibility of creating a social support network for women experiencing breast cancer...