Fiona Whyte

Benefits of supervised group exercise programme for women being treated for early stage breast cancer: pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Objectives To determine functional and psychological benefits of a 12 week supervised group exercise programme during treatment for early stage breast cancer, with six month follow-up. Design Pragmatic randomised controlled prospective open trial. Setting Three National Health Service oncology clinics in Scotland and community exercise facilities. Participants 203 women entered the study; 177 completed the six month follow-up. Interventions Supervised 12 week group exercise programme in addition to usual care, compared with usual care. Main outcome measures Functional assessment of cancer therapy (FACT) questionnaire, Beck depression inventory, positive and negative affect scale, body mass index, seven day recall of physical activity, 12 minute walk test, and assessment of shoulder mobility. Results Mixed effects models with adjustment for baseline values, study site, treatment at baseline, and age gave intervention effect estimates (intervention minus control) at 12 weeks of 129 (95% confidence interval 83 to 176) for metres walked in 12 minutes, 182 (75 to 289) for minutes of moderate intensity activity reported in a week, 2.6 (1.6 to 3.7) for shoulder mobility, 2.5 (1.0 to 3.9) for breast cancer specific subscale of quality of life, and 4.0 (1.8 to 6.3) for positive mood. No significant effect was seen for general quality of life (FACT-G), which was the primary outcome. At the six month follow-up, most of these effects were maintained and an intervention effect for breast cancer specific quality of life emerged. No adverse effects were noted. Conclusion Supervised group exercise provided functional and psychological benefit after a 12 week intervention and six months later. Clinicians should encourage activity for their patients. Policy makers should consider the inclusion of exercise opportunities in cancer rehabilitation services. Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN12587864.

Attendance at cancer follow-up clinic: does it increase anxiety or provide reassurance for men successfully treated for testicular cancer?

This cross-sectional descriptive study examined the meaning of the cancer follow-up clinic for men who have been successfully treated for testicular cancer. The sample of 62 men were selected using a nonprobability quota sampling method before attendance at a routine testicular cancer follow-up clinic within the Directorate of Clinical Oncology, Western General Hospitals NHS Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland. Subjects were given four instruments to complete immediately before seeing the doctor in the clinic, and two instruments to complete on day 8 after the clinic appointment. Instruments included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), a demographic questionnaire, and two Likert scales adapted for use in the study: the Common Concerns about Testicular Cancer questionnaire and the Psychological Consequences of Screening questionnaire (PCQ). Results demonstrated that men attending the clinic exhibit low levels of anxiety at the points measured, but gain a great deal of reassurance from the clinic visit. Results also demonstrated the areas of concern about testicular cancer and its management that influence anxiety in the follow-up clinic.

Short and long term physical and psychological benefits of a 12 week supervised group exercise programme during treatment for early stage breast cancer

This poster presentation reported on the short and long term physical and psychological benefits of a 12 week supervised group exercise programme during treatment for early stage breast cancer. This study is the first randomised controlled trial of a group exercise programme as part of a cancer rehabilitation programme.

Comparison of cutaneous malignant melanoma in two European countries

This paper presents a brief description of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), including the relevant epidemiology before contrasting and comparing this particular cancer in Scotland and Norway. This is a cancer of increasing incidence worldwide, with over 92 000 cases reported in 1985, representing 1.2% of the total cancer burden ( Boyle et al 1995 ). Although there have been advances in treatment with innovative approaches such as immunotherapy and gene therapy, metastatic melanoma remains largely incurable and accounts for 5000 deaths every year ( Jensen et al 1990 ). The relevance of cancer epidemiology to the cancer nurse, with particular reference to this type of skin cancer, is also highlighted as an awareness of these issues can enable nurses to apply this knowledge to the main phases of their work in cancer prevention and care.