• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.233-245
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• 2016

Objectives There is growing interest in the management of cancer survivors due to the increase in long-term survivors. But no literature research focusing on the management of cancer survivors has been done in Sasang Constitutional Medicine despite the superiority in comprehensive management of patients. Therefore, we planned to look into the perspective of health preservation in Sasang Constitutional Medicine.Methods We investigated the 『Donguisusebowon-Sasangchobongwon(東醫壽世保元 四象草本卷)』. We classified the contents which might be applicable to cancer patients. After classifying, we compared the contents with clinical experience and health preservation methods of Western Medicine.Results and Conclusions The health preservation is mentioned mostly as Joyang(調養). The Sasang Constitutional Medicine classifies the lives of people in 8 stages. Depending on the stages, there is a difference in the prognosis and management. Cancer patients can be regarded as being in the stages of Noeok(牢獄) and Wiegyeong(危傾). In these stages, patient's health preservation is important. In order to achieve long-term survival and to prevent disease progression, it is important to maintain requisite energy(保命之主). The attitudes that patient must have are simplicity(簡約), attentiveness(勤幹), vigilance(警戒), knowledgeability(聞見) for keeping one's own health and fulfilling the social obligations of human relations. The concept of health preservation in Sasang Constitutional Medicine covers the wide range of health. But detailed methods for patients to understand and practice are lacking. Moreover, it is hard for cancer patients to access the information. Therefore, further researches should be done to make the concept more specific and easy to access for cancer patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2011

Recent advances in techniques and strategies use to detect cancer in its early stages and to treat it effectively has the survival rate of cancer patients and the number of long-term cancer survivors continually increasing. Unfortunately, many cancer survivors are at risk for various late and long-term effects of cancer treatments including the radiotherapy. Long-term cancer survivors can be also seen for a hospice and palliative care because of cancer recurrence and they are at risk of delayed reactions to radiotherapy. So, the understanding and knowledge of radiation reactions is required for the proper medical diagnosis, management, and coordination of the potential reactions that may occur in these care setting. In effort to increase the survival rate in cancer patients and to decrease the adverse effects of cancer treatment, many clinical studies have been and continue to be conducted. The efforts of these studies have thus resulted in the advancement of cancer treatments. Regrettably, the overall interest in how to manage adverse effects of cancer treatment such as radiotherapy appears seemingly low in clinical practice and its advanced studies as a whole are delayed and deficient. It is imperative that the medical community show an enthusiastic interest in the aftercare of cancer patients and cancer survivors in order to create a complementary integrative approach that will eliminate radiotherapy related pain/discomfort or illness in hospice and palliative care settings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2459-2464
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• 2016

Background: Cancer treatments can have long-term physical, psychological, financial, sexual and cognitive effects that may influence the quality of life. These can vary from urban to rural areas, survival period and according to the type of cancer. We here aimed to describe demographics and psychosocial analysis of cancer survivors three to five years post-treatment in rural Australia and also assess relationships with financial stress and quality of life domains. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 65 participants visiting the outpatient oncology clinic were given a self-administered questionnaire. The inclusion criteria included three to five years post-treatment. Three domains were investigated using standardised and validated tools such as the Standard Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors Scale (QLACS) and the Personal and Household Finances (HILDA) survey. Included were demographic parameters, quality of life, treatment information and well-being. Results: There was no evidence of associations between any demographic variable and either financial stress or cancer-specific quality of life domains. Financial stress was however significantly associated with the cancer-specific quality of life domains of appearance-related concerns, family related distress, and distress related to recurrence. Conclusions: This unique study effectively points to psychosocial aspects of cancer survivors in rural regions of Australia. Although the majority of demographic characteristics were not been found to be associated with financial stress, this latter itself is significantly associated with distress related to family and cancer recurrence. This finding may be of assistance in future studies and also considering plans to fulfil unmet needs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5433-5438
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• 2015

Background: Systemic chemotherapy for patients with metastatic gastric cancer (MGC) is generally palliative, although some patients experience long-term survival after treatment. Thus, we identified clinical characteristics that are associated with long-term survival of patients with MGC after palliative chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 514 MGC patients who received systemic chemotherapy at our institution from 2001 to 2008. To identify clinical predictors of survival beyond 2 years, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, and 5-year survival rates were estimated among MGC patients following chemotherapy. Results: Among 514 patients, 96 (19%) and 16 (3%) survived beyond 2 and 5 years, respectively, and performance status of 0 or 1 (odds ratio [OR]=3.39; p=0.01), previous gastrectomy (OR=1.86; p=0.01), single metastatic site (OR=1.80; p=0.03), and normal alkaline phosphatase levels (OR=2.81; p<0.01) were identified as independent predictors of long-term survival. Of the 16 5-year survivors, six were alive at the end of the study and showed no evidence of disease despite cessation of chemotherapy. Conclusions: The present data demonstrate distinct clinical characteristics that are associated with long-term survival of MGC patients, and indicated that palliative chemotherapy can be curative in highly selected patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.344-344
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• 2020

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.5-27
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• 2008

Purpose: This study aims to better understand the quality of life (QOL) for Korean breast and gynecological cancer survivors by examining the differences in multi-dimensional QOL outcomes according to stage of cancer survivorship. Methods: To identify the multiple dimensions of health status and psychosocial outcomes, three standardized QOL and psychological distress measures were administered to 110 Korean breast and gynecological cancer survivors. These participants were divided into three groups based on the stage of cancer survivorship. Results: Analyses of covariance revealed that once important confounders were controlled for, QOL outcomes were partially different depending on the stage of cancer survivorship. Results for SF-36 measure showed significant differences between acute and long-term survival stages, indicating that QOL for cancer survivors had gradually improved in the physical domain. However, there were no significant group differences in the psychological domain of SF-36. Additionally, QOL-CS and BSI-18 measures did not show significant QOL differences according to the stage of cancer survivorship. Conclusions: Evidence that, for Korean survivors, QOL outcomes differ according to the stage of cancer survivorship serves as a rationale for developing discriminatory strategies and interventions that take into account survival stage.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8783-8788
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• 2014

Background: Although the prevalence of cancer is increasing, it is no longer synonymous with death. The number of cancer survivors is estimated to be increasing due to development in medical treatments and social programs; cancer survivors are increasingly returning to work after long-term unemployment. Thus, we examined the quality of life (QOL) and the factors associated with return of cancer survivors to the workplace. Materials and Methods: This study was performed using the 2008 Community Health Survey administered by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (N=548). We used Chi-square tests to compare demographic variables based on self-perceived health status, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare QOL scores among groups. We also performed a mixed-model analysis of the relationship between QOL and factors at the workplaces of cancer survivors. Results: Based on the results of our study, the overall QOL of cancer survivors was associated with 'mutual respect', 'free emotional expression', occupation, and age. Moreover, different trends of QOL according to self-perceived health were identified on additional analysis. In the 'bad' self-perceived health group, QOL was significantly different according to income. The QOL of cancer survivors in the low-income group was lower than in the other groups. Conversely, the 'normal' group had a lower QOL caused by 'no mutual respect' and "no free emotional expression" in the workplace. The QOL in the 'good' group based on self-perceived health was higher in the younger age group. Conclusions: There may be a significant relationship between QOL and workplace factors for cancer survivors, although further study is needed to investigate this relationship in detail. This may facilitate formulation of policy and efforts to prevent and manage the decline in the QOL of cancer survivors returning to work.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5741-5746
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• 2012

Aim: Although preoperative chemoradiatherapy (CRT) has proven its benefits in terms of decreased toxicity, there is still a considerable amount of cases that do not receive postoperative CRT. Oncologists at different geographic locations still need to know the long-term effects of this treatment in order to manage patients successfully. The current paper reports on long-term quality of life (QOL) and late side effects after adjuvant CRT in rectal cancer patients from 5 centers in Anatolia. Methods: Rectal cancer patients treated with postoperative CRT with minimum 1-year follow-up and were in complete remission, were evaluated according to RTOG and LENT-SOMA scales. They were also asked to complete Turkish version of EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire and the CR-38 module. Each center participated with the required clinical data. Results: Two hundred and thirty patients with median age of 55 years participated and completed the study. Median follow-up time was 5 years. All patients received RT concomitant with chemotherapy. Common parameters that both increased functional health scales and yielded better symptom scores were long term interval after treatment and sphincter-saving surgery. In addition, surgery type and follow-up time were determined to be predictors of QOL scores and late toxicity grade. Conclusion: Postoperative CRT was found to have a great impact on the long term QOL and side effects in rectal cancer survivors. The factors that adversely affect these are abdominoperineal resection and shorter interval. The findings may encourage life-long follow-up and cooperation with patients, which should be mentioned during the initial counseling.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.88-98
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• 2024

Patients with pediatric cancer often undergo multiple therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and stem cell transplantation. These treatments, while essential, can result in dental developmental issues, including hypodontia, microdontia, short roots, and delayed dental development. This report presents two cases of pediatric patients diagnosed with neuroblastoma who exhibited severe tooth mobility due to short roots as a complication of cancer treatment. Moreover, we investigated the conservative management of the patients' conditions using resin wire splints and orthodontic miniscrews for skeletal anchorage along with long-term follow-ups to evaluate their prognosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1841-1844
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• 2012

Background: The majority of patients with pancreatic cancer present with advanced disease. Systemic chemotherapy has limited impact on overall survival (OS) so that eligible patients should be selected carefully. The aim of this study was to analyze prognostic factors for survival in Turkish advanced pancreatic cancer patients who survived more than one year from the diagnosis of recurrent and/or metastatic disease and receiving gemcitabine (Gem) alone or gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GemCis). Methods: This retrospective evaluation was performed for patients who survived more than one year from the diagnosis of recurrent and/or metastatic disease and who received gemcitabine between December 2005 and August 2011. Twenty-seven potential prognostic variables were chosen for univariate and multivariate analyses to identify prognostic factors associated with survival. Results: Among the 27 variables in univariate analysis, three were identified to have prognostic significance: sex (p = 0.04), peritoneal dissemination (p =0.02) and serum creatinine level (p=0.05). Multivariate analysis by Cox proportional hazard model showed only peritoneal dissemination to be an independent prognostic factor for survival. Conclusion: In conclusion, peritoneal metastasis was identified as an important prognostic factor in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients who survived more than one year from the diagnosis of recurrent and/or metastatic disease and receiving Gem or GemCis. The findings should facilitate pretreatment prediction of survival and can be used for selecting patients for treatment.