Symptom Clusters That Included Gastrointestinal Symptoms Among Children Receiving Cancer Treatments: A Scoping Review.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION: Composition and measurement of the gastrointestinal (GI) symptom cluster (SC) has been inconsistent; therefore, a gap exists in understanding of the GI SC. The purpose of this study was to synthesize findings from prior studies to better understand the GI SC and accompanying non-GI symptoms in children receiving cancer treatment. LITERATURE SEARCH: PubMed®, Embase®, CINAHL®, Scopus®, and PsycINFO® databases were searched through February 2022. Of 661 articles identified, 8 met inclusion criteria. DATA EVALUATION: A standardized investigator-developed form was used to extract data from eligible studies, including study and sample characteristics, analytic procedure, SCs that included GI symptoms, and influencing factors. SYNTHESIS: The 12 most frequently reported GI and accompanying non-GI symptoms were identified across 20 SCs. Phi correlation coefficients were calculated as indicators of strength of association between each pair of co-occurring symptoms within an SC. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Future studies should develop and test tools to comprehensively assess GI and accompanying non-GI symptoms and interventions that target shared underlying mechanisms.

Illness Uncertainty and Its Antecedents for Patients With Prostate Cancer and Their Partners.

OBJECTIVES: Guided by Mishel's uncertainty in illness theory, patterns of change in uncertainty were explored over time for patients with prostate cancer and their partners. In addition, the relationships between uncertainty and its antecedents were examined, and the role effects (patient versus partner) on these relationships were assessed. SAMPLE & SETTING: This study is a secondary analysis of the longitudinal data collected from a randomized clinical trial. METHODS & VARIABLES: The current authors fitted multiple-level models that included time-invariant baseline variables (sociodemographics and cancer factors) and time-varying variables (uncertainty, symptoms, and social support) measured at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 months thereafter. RESULTS: No statistically significant patterns of change in uncertainty over time were detected. Partners reported greater uncertainty than patients. Higher uncertainty was associated with more general and prostate cancer-specific symptoms, recurrent and advanced prostate cancer, higher prostate-specific antigen level, and lower social support. More urinary symptoms were associated with greater uncertainty in patients than in partners. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Uncertainty management can be tailored for and target symptom management and social support.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Stress, Psychoneurologic Symptoms, and Coping Strategies in Adolescents and Young Adults
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Psychoneurologic symptoms commonly reported by adolescents and young adults (AYAs) following hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) include anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) appeals to AYAs as a means of coping with these symptoms. One example of CAM is a publicly available illness blog authored by a young adult woman undergoing HSCT. 
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Social Media: Support for Survivors and Young Adults With Cancer

Social media use is ubiquitous among young adults. Young adults with cancer must make important decisions about where, what, and how to share information on social media. Oncology nurses are in a unique position to start conversations about the risks and benefits of social media use. This column aims to review a variety of social media platforms that may be used by young adults with cancer and provide guidance to nurses on initiating open dialogue with young adults about social media usage. 
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Feasibility and preliminary outcomes from a pilot study of coping skills training for adolescent--young adult survivors of childhood cancer and their parents.

Uncertainty is a central feature of long-term childhood cancer survivorship during which time it principally has to do with late effects. Therefore, the purposes of this article are (a) to assess feasibility of a randomized clinical trial of a telephone-delivered coping skills training (CST) intervention in terms of recruitment, retention, and timeline, as well as the performance of the study measures; and (b) to demonstrate trends in change on outcomes within the context of a small pilot study. The results of this pilot study suggest that HEROS PLUS CST has clinical relevance and that in-person long-term follow-up plus telephone-delivered psychosocial care is a practical way to deliver integrated care to adolescent-young adult childhood cancer survivors and their parents.