Coping with breast cancer together: Challenging topics for mothers and their adolescent-young adult (AYA) daughters.

Background. The mother-daughter relationship can be central to women who are coping with breast cancer and provide a key source of support. However, the adolescent and young adult (AYA) daughters of diagnosed mothers have been known to exhibit notable distress during this time, withdrawing and avoiding communication, further challenging their ability to cope together. Objective. We sought to identify challenging topics that contribute to this avoidant mother-daughter communication pattern, as a first step in helping mothers and AYA daughters facilitate health-promoting communication. Methods. We examined thematically analyzed transcripts of one-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 27 women (12 mother-daughter dyads). Results. We to identified 3 broad topics that were challenging to discuss: daughters' future breast cancer risk; emotionally related concerns; and clinical and physical aspects of disease. Thematic properties illustrate the challenging nature of each topic that informed their ability to communally cope together. Implications. Findings provide an initial roadmap for developing communication skills interventions that help mothers and AYA daughters navigate challenging conversations and facilitate communal coping.

Experiences of "openness" between mothers and daughters during breast cancer: implications for coping and healthy outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Mother-daughter communication is central to how women adjust to breast cancer. They may be aided by models of healthy communication that illustrate both women's perspectives. Families establish normative communication patterns that inform how they cope. We used family communication patterns theory to examine correlations between openness/avoidance and health. We extended this by capturing mother-daughter open/avoidant narratives to illustrate how these behaviors function in helpful (health-promoting) and unhelpful ways. METHODS: Phase 1 of this mixed-method study involved 41 patients and 37 mothers/daughters (N = 78) completing surveys on mother-daughter openness, avoidant coping, and quality of life. Phase 2 involved interviews with 40 patients and 38 mothers/daughters (N = 78) to ascertain what diagnosed women share (or do not share) with their mother/daughter and their reasons. RESULTS: Diagnosed women reporting more open mother-daughter bonds had better relational health (r = .730, P < .001). Those who engaged in more avoidant coping reported poorer physical health (r = -.431, P = .01). Mothers and daughters talked about treatment side effects and procedures, disease risk and prevention, and medical decisions. They avoided discussions about distressing emotions and topics as well as uncertainty about the future. Motivations to disclose/avoid centered on protecting themselves and/or their mother/daughter. Qualitative findings illustrate the tension between openness and avoidance. Developmental differences and relational role perspectives illustrate women's diverse needs. CONCLUSIONS: A history of openness is linked with relational health, but coping is not as simple as "be open." Both openness/avoidance are helpful and unhelpful depending on age, topic, and responses.

Comparative Study of Graphite-Supported LDI- and ESI-FT-ICR-MS of a Pyrolysis Liquid from a German Brown Coal.

Pyrolysis liquids from coal are complex mixtures of organic compounds with low to high molecular mass and low to high polarity. Compared to low-molecular-weight compounds, little information is available regarding high-molecular-weight compounds in pyrolysis liquids, although their characterization is important for the elucidation of degradation pathways. In this study, laser desorption ionization (LDI) using graphite powder as the support material has been used in conjunction with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) for the analysis of a pyrolysis liquid from brown coal. The acquired data is compared to previous results of the same sample using electrospray ionization (ESI). Using LDI, compounds with masses between 300 and 900 Da were detected by LDI. An evaluation of the spectra was based on the frequency of molecular formulas with a different number of heteroatoms. Hydrocarbon compounds and heteroatomic compounds containing oxygen and sulfur were found. A comparison to ESI results shows that the numbers of observed molecular formulas are virtually the same, but a higher quantity of molecular formulas with a low number of oxygen can be detected by LDI. The observation of molecular formulas without oxygen is a unique feature of the LDI spectra. A more detailed investigation was possible by the utilization of double bond equivalent plots versus carbon number, which revealed a prevalence of LDI for the ionization of compounds with higher DBE.

Do families cope communally with breast cancer, or is it just talk?

Cancer experiences are sites of transition and struggle that are made meaningful through communication with others. As such, they are events in which communal coping might occur as survivors and families deal with cancer collectively. I conducted 64 interviews with family members who had coped with breast cancer. Using relational dialectics theory, I analyzed data for discursive struggle and competition via a contrapuntal analysis. Thematic and discourse analyses revealed that communal coping was not highly prevalent in family member talk of their experiences. Individual coping by female breast cancer survivors typified the experience, and family members depicted coping as an individual identity disruption as opposed to a communal experience. This article contributes to a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of communal coping within a context of cancer. I offer suggestions for a reconceptualization of communal coping to benefit health practitioners and researchers.

Sugars and Organic Acids in 25 Strawberry Cultivars: Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation.

(1) The nutritional quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) fruits, among others, is largely maintained by the presence of soluble sugars and organic acids. As the primary products of photosynthesis, they are energy depots in plants, necessary for the construction of cell constituents, but also serve as precursors of aromatic compounds and signaling molecules. (2) In this study, fruits of 25 strawberry cultivars were qualitatively and quantitatively characterized concerning individual sugars and organic acids by HPLC, FT-ICR-MS, and MS imaging analysis. In addition, the total quality index (TQI), as a novel mathematical model, was used to compare all individual parameters evaluated to obtain a quantitative single score, as an indicator of overall fruit quality. (3) Regardless of a large number of cultivars and monitored parameters that were studded, several cultivars stood out in terms of selected primary metabolites, such as 'Rumba', 'Jeny', and 'Sandra', while the latter had the best TQI score. (4) Intercultivar variations in sugars and organic acids profiles, along with other bioactive compounds, should be considered for selection of promising cultivars with improved naturally occurring nutraceutical traits. Besides the search for a pleasant taste, increased awareness of healthy nutrition resulted in heightening consumer demand for high-quality fruit.

Young Adult Caregiving Daughters and Diagnosed Mothers Navigating Breast Cancer Together: Open and Avoidant Communication and Psychosocial Outcomes.

For many diagnosed mothers and their daughters, breast cancer is a shared experience. However, they struggle to talk about cancer. This is particularly true when the daughter is in adolescence or young adulthood, as they tend to be more avoidant, which is associated with poorer biopsychosocial outcomes. When daughters are their mother's caregivers, daughters' burden and distress are heightened. Young adult caregiving daughters (YACDs) are the second most common family caregiver and encounter more distress and burden than other caregiver types. Yet, YACDs and their diagnosed mothers receive no guidance on how to talk about cancer. Thirty-nine mother/YACD pairs participated in an online survey to identify challenging topics and strategies for talking about cancer, and to explore associations between openness/avoidance and psychosocial outcomes. YACDs and mothers reported the same challenging topics (death, treatment-related issues, negative emotions, relational challenges, YACDs' disease risk) but differed on why they avoided the topic. YACDs and mothers identified the same helpful approaches to navigate conversations (openness, staying positive, third-party involvement, avoidance). Avoidance was correlated with more distress whereas openness was correlated with better psychosocial outcomes. These results provide a psychosocial map for a mother-YACD communication skills intervention, which is key to promoting healthy outcomes.

Helping Diagnosed Mothers and Their Adolescent-Young Adult Daughters Navigate Challenging Breast Cancer Conversations.

Background: Mothers diagnosed with breast cancer describe daughters as a critical source of support. Talking about breast cancer is especially distressing and challenging for mothers and their adolescent-young adult (AYA) daughters. Objective: The over-arching study aim was to generate findings to integrate into an intervention to enhance diagnosed mothers' and AYA daughters' communication skills by identifying approaches they find helpful when talking about cancer. Methods: We recruited 27 women (12 dyads). Diagnosed mothers and their AYA daughters (aged 18-29) participated in individual, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were thematically analyzed. Mothers'/daughters' perspectives were compared/ triangulated. Results: Both mothers and daughters identified 3 approaches that helped them navigate cancer communication: (mothers) initiate conversations, keep communication positive, and limit cancer conversations. Only mothers reported it was helpful to downplay the seriousness of cancer. Only daughters identified it was important for them to reframe their perspective of mothers' disclosures. Conclusions: Findings provide clinicians like nurses and families with a "psychosocial map" of communication approaches and associated strategies mothers and AYA daughters can use to talk about breast cancer in ways that promote daughters' comfort and/or alleviate distress. Implications for Practice: Findings capture communication skills to focus on when tailoring developmentally focused interventions targeting diagnosed mothers and AYA daughters. Nurses can translate findings into practice to help patients talk to AYA daughters about cancer, thereby promoting a family-centered cancer care approach. What Is Foundational: AYA daughters are especially distressed talking about cancer with their diagnosed mothers. They can both use communication strategies to enhance their communal coping.