Sunday, July 15, 2018

Psycho-oncology

Recently I was invited and accepted to a Facebook Group Psycho-oncology Professional Network

I was pleased to see professionals considering the psychological/emotional component of physical symptoms, especially for chronic conditions, such as Cancer. I'd like to see this approach used on all chronic conditions.

I thought I'd learn more about Psycho-Oncology and here's what I found. I hope you find this information helpful.

The picture shown is of Jimmie C. Holland - a founder of the field of psycho-oncology.

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Psycho-Oncology - Home | Facebook

Psycho-oncology | Psychology Today

International Psycho-Oncology Society

What is Psychosocial Oncology? | CAPO.ca

Psycho-oncology: Treating the Organ Affected by Every Cancer

Various government links

American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS)

Resources and Meditations | UCSF Helen Diller Family ....

The Integration of Psychology in Pediatric Oncology Research and ...

Psychosocial Care for Children with Cancer - HealthWell Foundation

Psycho-Oncology - Children/Parents

Psycho Oncology

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More out there....here's the search string I used - psycho (cancer OR oncology)

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice. Additional Disclaimers.

Sleep and Cancer

Here are some informational links that your doctor might not even know about relating to Cancer, especially sleeping.

I hope this information brings you hope, support, comfort, contacts of those who might be able to help you more, something you didn't know about or hadn't thought about before. Share information with your healthcare providers, too, if you think appropriate. Maybe your experiences can help others.

Best wishes to you all.

Sleeping and Mesothelioma

Sleep Disorders (PDQ®)—Patient Version - National Cancer Institute

Common Sleep Issues Associated with Cancer | Tuck Sleep

Lack of Sleep and Cancer: Is There a Connection?

What Is Cancer-Related Fatigue - American Cancer Society

Excess sleep associated with worse survival rates in women with ...

Psychiatric research builds link between sleep, stress, cancer ...

Fragmented sleep accelerates cancer growth

Helping lung cancer patients beat insomnia - University at Buffalo

UAB - News - Improving sleep quality for breast cancer survivors

Tips for Better Sleep for Cancer Patients | University of Iowa Hospitals ...

10 Tips to Get More Sleep - American Cancer Society

Getting Help for Sleep Problems - American Cancer Society

Improving Your Sleep: For Cancer Survivors | Memorial Sloan ...

Treatment for Sleep Problems Caused By Chronic Illness - WebMD

Side Effects: Sleep Problems - National Cancer Institute

Tips for getting better sleep when you have cancer

Suggestions to Improve Your Sleep

Tibetan yoga practice may improve sleep quality for breast cancer ...

Sleep Tips to Put a Spring in Your Step | Cancer.Net

Tips for Getting to Sleep When Cancer is Keeping You ... - CancerCare

6 Bedtime Stretches to Help You Sleep Better - The Breast Cancer ...

Sleep, Cancer, Patients, Information, Resources | CancerCare

Cancer Support Groups - Memorial Medical Center

Cancer Support Groups - Griffin Hospital

Coping With Advanced Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Caregivers of Cancer Patients - National Cancer Institute

Support for Families When a Child has Cancer - National Cancer ...

Feelings and Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Psychological Stress and Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Support Groups, Cancer, Patients, Information, Resources | CancerCare

Support Groups - Bayhealth

Cancer support groups | Novant Health

Sleep Problems After Cancer | Virginia Mason, Seattle

Cancer Support Services - Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Integrative Ways to Reduce Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatment

Non-Pharmacological Interventions - Department of Family Medicine ...

Facing Forward - Life After Cancer Treatment - National Cancer Institute

Support Groups for Improving Quality of Life in Men with Prostate Cance

When Someone You Love Has Advanced Cancer - National Cancer ...

Children - Cancer - Sleep

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Good Internet Search String for more information - (improve OR help OR suggestions OR tips) (carcinoma OR mesothelioma OR MM OR cancer OR oncology OR oncological OR malignant OR malignancy) (sleep OR slumber OR rest)

Article is for information only and is not medical advice. Additional disclaimers.

Friday, July 6, 2018

Sleeping and Mesothelioma

Sleeping and Mesothelioma

Those who have cancer may suffer from multiple sleeping problems because of their condition, their prescribed medications, and their treatments, but this puts them in a tough situation. Getting a good night's sleep helps fight cancer, so those diagnosed with mesothelioma can benefit from getting the rest that is necessary for their body. Here are some of the common sleep problems associated with cancer and information on how increased sleep can benefit patients.

Hypersomnia
Hypersomnia, or excessive drowsiness during the daytime, is a common side effect of cancer and/or its treatment. Even cancer patients who sleep for eight to ten hours at night, may still fall asleep during the day. Regardless of the amount of sleep a patient gets, he or she will never feel relief even after sleeping at night or taking naps. Many confuse fatigue with hypersomnia, but they are two different things. Hypersomnia is a lack of sleep while fatigue is a lack of energy.

Insomnia
Cancer itself does not cause insomnia, but many of the symptoms do, as well as side effects from treatment and medication. Some examples of symptoms that cause insomnia include:

chronic pain
breathing difficulty
chronic coughing
feelings about living with cancer including fear, anxiety, and grief

Nightmares
Many cancer patients report experiencing vivid nightmares once their treatment starts. This may be caused by treatment and medications, but also may be driven by fears about having cancer. Regardless, when cancer patients fear falling asleep, it creates an unhealthy cycle of exhaustion where the patient is trying to catch up on sleep during the day because of scary nights.

How does sleep fight cancer?

Sleeping well is important for one's overall health; when a person doesn't get enough sleep they are at higher risk for obesity, diabetes, depression, cardiovascular issues, and cancer. In a recent study, researchers found lack of sleep increases the risk of cancer recurrence. Sleep specifically affects cancer through the immune system. When one doesn't get enough sleep, it weakens their immune system which allows cancer to spread and tumors to grow more aggressively.

How can cancer patients ensure that they are getting enough rest?

Sleep issues associated with cancer come from different sources, so cancer patients need to speak openly and honestly about their struggles with their doctor. Doctors can prescribe medications that may help with sleep, especially in the cases of hypersomnia and insomnia, but if the sleep deprivation is induced by fear or anxiety, patients may need to seek counseling with a therapist. Attending support groups with other patients may also alleviate anxiety and fear about cancer that disrupts sleep. Other tips that may help include turning off electronics at least an hour before bedtime. Learning and practicing meditation and associated deep breathing exercises may also help with sleep. Reading a book for a short time before sleeping may serve to reduce fear and anxiety, so one can fall asleep easier. Regardless, not getting the proper amount of sleep is a serious health issue for those who are at risk for cancer, those who are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatments, and those who are in remission from their cancer.

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Contributed by Anonymous Author(s)

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Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Measuring the Effects of various Manual Therapy Interventions

Here's my response to a reader who is interested in "Measuring the Effects of various Manual Therapy Interventions".

People typically get Manual Therapy to

* Increase mobility/flexibility and/or to
* Reduce Pain.

The reader pointed out - The Effects of various Manual Therapy Interventions typically cannot be tested/measured using cadavers or computer modeling, and often there is no valid “sham” therapy to measure against.

Let's look into this....

First let's start with a few references....

* Standardized Outcome Measures in Manual Therapy

* Cost effectiveness of physiotherapy, manual therapy, and general practitioner care for neck pain: economic evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial - Commentary: Bootstrapping simplifies appreciation of statistical inferences

* Assessment tools for OT

* Guide to Outcomes Measurement for Patients With Low Back

* The effectiveness of manual therapy, physiotherapy and treatment by the general practitioner for chronic non-specific back and neck complaints

* Manual therapy followed by specific active exercises versus a placebo followed by specific active exercises on the improvement of functional disability in patients with chronic non specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial

* Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) questionnaires for people with pain in any spine region. A systematic review

* Patients' treatment beliefs in low back pain: development and validation of a questionnaire in primary care

* Physical Therapy Evaluation and Management of the Shoulder Complex

* Effectiveness of Manual Physical Therapy for Painful Shoulder Conditions: A Systematic Review

* Efficacy of Manual Therapy

* The Science and Practice of Manual Therapy - body language

* Immediate Changes Following Manual Therapy in Resting State Functional Connectivity As Measured By Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) In Subjects With Induced Low Back Pain

* Placebo response to manual therapy: something out of nothing?

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Based on the above...."Measuring the Effects of various Manual Therapy Interventions" might be accomplished by....

* Ask the patient whether the manual therapy is effective or not. Listen to their story/narrative. Observe body language. Perhaps, use questionnaires.

* You can use more sophisticated efficacy measurement tools like fMRI, but these are usually out of the reach of most practitioners. Stress/Pain Measurement Tools like those used in Biofeedback can be used to test relaxation level (skin conductance and/or heart rate variability). Since stress/tension increases muscle tightness and increases pain, probably anything to reduce stress/anxiety will help therapy effectiveness

* The Therapist could increase the perceived effectiveness of the therapy by words/actions. This is due to enhancing the inherent Placebo Effect, which is a part of any health intervention.

* Lastly, if the perceived or measured effectiveness is slow going or non-existant, please consider psychological/emotional reasons for the chronic patient - "Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”?" - Especially see questions therein.

* I'm sure there are more ways to measure efficacy of Manual Therapy. Perhaps the Measurement/Testing Modalities of related Health/Medical Interventions might be useful to measure the efficacy of Manual Therapy, too. Please add your comments to add to this discussion.

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Article is for information only and is not medical advice. See full disclaimers at TG Ideas LLC.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Has anyone had their Medicines Blessed to Make Them Seem to Work Better?

Some churches bless pets, houses, boats, etc. Why not Medicines? - Especially on a Regular Basis, e,g. Weekly, As needed, etc.

Action - If you like this idea, ask your Religious Leader to Bless Your Medicines and Hope the Medicines DO indeed work better.

You might find it work better to have a Religious Leader bless your medicines, instead of yourself. Your Religious Leader probably has more Healing Power than you do.

By blessing medicine, what do you/we have to lose? Nothing?
And what might you/we gain? - Relief from Symptoms?

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I could find all kinds of blessings for all kinds of things, but not much for medicine, treatments, etc.

Could this be an overlooked Alternative/Complementary Healing (CAM) Modality?

Yet, It might be extra powerful, invoking both a Spiritual component, as well as a Placebo Effect Component - working in Unison!
God probably works in many ways - in the Medicine/Treatment itself and the Belief that the Medicine/Treatment will work....or even work better after blessing.

Might this work for the current Opioid Crisis ? - making Pain Medicine seem to work better and thus reduce medicine usage?

By blessing medicine, what do we have to lose? And what might we gain?

I wouldn't think doctors would have any ethical concerns, since the doctors wouldn't be doing the blessings. Of course, patients should advise doctors of what they are doing.
Wouldn't it be great if a Patient's Doctor participated in the Blessing Ritual?

Wouldn't this be a great Value-Added Option for Religious Based Hospitals, Clinics, etc.? Combining Faith Healing with Traditional Medicine, for those patients who are interested in this powerful combination.

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References -

Blessings for things

Prayer for Taking Medication

Efficacy of prayer - Medical Views

Blessing

Anointing of the Sick

Blessing of the Throats

"A survey released in May 2004^[71] by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43% of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others' health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health." - from Prayer

PRAYER OF BLESSING FOR PILLS, TABLETS AND OTHER MEDICINE

Prayer When Taking Medication or Chemotherapy

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Disclaimer - Article is for Information only and is not Medical Advice.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Could Doctors be Sued by Omitting the Psychological/Emotional Component of Chronic Maladies, especially Pain, in Diagnosis/Treatment?

It is well know that Emotional Stress causes or aggravates Physical Symptoms.

Furthermore, Personality, Belief Systems, Cultures, etc. also have an effect on Physical Symptom Management.

Doctors know this and most choose to ignore this and just treat the symptoms, usually with medication. "Band-Aid Fixes"

So, Could Doctors be sued by omitting the Psychological/Emotional (Mind-Body) Component of Chronic Conditions, especially Chronic Pain? Could this be viewed as Malpractice?

Please see references below.

Mistakes of Commission or Omission, What is the Difference?

Omission-Related Malpractice Claims and the Limits of Defensive Medicine

Cognitive errors in medicine: The common errors

Laws governing holistic healing: some basics

Medical Negligence Incompetence and Fraud

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not advice of any kind, especially not medical/legal advice.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Managing "Morbid Fears", "Irrational Fears", or Phobias

Definition - A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, defined by a persistent fear of an object or situation. The word phobia comes from the Greek: φόβος (phóbos), meaning "aversion", "fear", or "morbid fear".

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Here are some resources to that might help manage morbid fears or phobias:

Internet Links....

Books....

Cognitive-behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Strategies by Richard G. Heimberg, Robert E. Becker, Guilford Press, 2002
Handbook of Phobia Therapy: Rapid Symptom Relief in Anxiety Disorders by
Carol G. Lindemann, J. Aronson, 1989
Phobia: the facts, by Donald W. Goodwin, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1983
The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, by Edmund Bourne,
New Harbinger Publications, 2011

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical or legal advice.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Four Powerful Concepts to Maximize Healing

Doctors, Please Consider Combining These Four Powerful Concepts to Maximize Your Patient’s Healing

Patients, Are You Getting the Best Treatment from Your Healthcare Professional?

Whether doctors and patients like it or not, there is a mind-body interaction. Healthcare professionals can leverage this interaction for enhanced healing.

As a healthcare professional, please consider these concepts to improve total diagnosis and treatment:

1. Knowledge and Medical Skills
2. Bedside Manner
3. Maximize the Placebo Effect
4. Minimize the Nocebo Effect

Knowledge and Medical Skills are taught very well in medical schools. Little need be said on this concept. It is the basis of many medical practices.

Bedside Manner is becoming more important as many practices are becoming consumer driven. Perhaps some healthcare professional have inherited good bedside manner. Others might want to learn. Some medical schools are combining "people skills" along with the usual curriculum. For those who want to learn more, some references are listed at the end of this article. In addition, here are good Internet search strings for even more information:

listening-skills (patient OR doctor OR nurse)
body-language (patient OR doctor OR nurse)
(listening-skills OR body-language) tutorial
(listening-skills body-language) tutorial

Most healthcare professionals do not consider Placebo/Nocebo Effects, though these effects are as powerful in many cases as medicine and treatment. Again, good techniques can be learned. General references are at the end of this article. To find more information on the Internet, use these search strings:

placebo-(effect OR response) (words OR wording OR ritual OR enhance OR maximize) (patient OR doctor OR nurse OR physician)
nocebo-(effect OR response) (words OR wording OR ritual OR minimize OR diminish) (patient OR doctor OR nurse OR physician)

Use of these four concepts is somewhat of a judgment call by the practitioner. Some patients want only the facts and expertise. Some patients respond more to Bedside Manner. Some respond to Placebo/Nocebo whereas some do not.

Patient-Doctor communication is bilateral. As people-skills are learned and practiced, doctors can pick up the patient's body language combined with listening to them. From that, the doctor or nurse can decide how to adjust his or her own words, body language, and actions. Maybe someday, there will be "Emotional Stress Indicators" on patients to help the doctor decide whether they are helping or hurting the patient.

Medical practice is evolving. As much as there is hope for patients, there is hope for doctors and nurses willing to consider and learn new concepts and skills.

Takeaways:

Patient-Doctor communication is becoming more and more important, as healthcare becomes more consumer-driven.
Bedside Manner, Placebo Effect, and Nocebo Effect can all be leveraged for enhanced and sustained healing. The progressive and caring healthcare professionals can learn all these.As a patient, find a practitioner that fits you as a person. Ask around, explaining what is important to you, as a health care consumer. Give each practitioner a fair chance, but do your part to communicate your needs and wants. Healthcare professionals are not "Mind-Readers".

For more information:

Bedside Manner
Can Better Bedside Manner Be Taught?
Bedside Manner: Concept Analysis and Impact on Advanced Nursing Practice
Patient-Physician Communication: Why and How
Bedside Manners: One Doctor's Reflections on the Oddly Intimate Encounters Between Patient and Healer by David Watts, M.D., Random House Digital, Inc., 2006
Listening to Patients: A Phenomenological Approach to Nursing Research and Practice by Sandra P. Thomas, PhD, RN, FAAN, et al., Springer Publishing Company, 2004
The Power of Hope: A Doctor`s Perspective by Howard Spiro, Yale University Press, 1998
The Placebo Effect: An Interdisciplinary Exploration by Anne Harrington, Harvard University Press, 1999
Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter hosted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Speciﬁc Components of Bedside Manner in the General Hospital Psychiatric Consultation: 12 Concrete Suggestions
As a Healthcare Professional, Are You Checking All the Vital Signs to Evaluate Total Patient Condition?
Medical Monitor with an Emotional Stress And/or Pain Indicator

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.