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Evaluation of Treatment for Ovarian Cancer-Induced Depression Research Brief The research study, Depression Treatment and Screening in Ovarian Cancer Patients, (M. D. Anderson Cancer Center website, 2007) was conducted by the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in collaboration with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on a group of women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, using two psychological intervention methods; Coping and Communication-enhancing Intervention (CCI) and Supportive Counselling (SC). The study was conducted with the intention to compare the efficacy of the two psychological interventions as to which is the more effective treatment of the depressive symptoms and cancer-specific distress affecting women who were diagnosed with cancer.
The result of the study suggested that depressive symptoms on patients diagnosed with ovarian as well as other gynaecological cancer may be effectively treated by both interventions. This was proven by analysis of the intent-to-treat curve where patients on both CCI and SC reported lower depressive symptoms than those who are on usual care. The study also reported that women with greater than average increases in physician-rated physical symptoms and / or who were more expressive of positive emotions benefited more from SC than women with lower than average increases in symptoms scores and / or women who were less expressive of positive emotions. Research Design The research was conducted by a group of gynaecological oncology experts from different medical centers in Texas and Philadelphia, together with a medical expert from New Jersey and a psychologist from New York. Three hundred fifty-three women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer participated and were evaluated in the study. The researchers used depressive symptoms and cancer specific distress as the dependent variables while medical, psychological and demographic moderators on intervention effects were the independent variables in the study.
The general inclusion criteria of the study are women who were diagnosed with gynaecological cancer, undergoing treatment for newly diagnosed or obstinate ovarian cancer, experiencing diagnosis induced depressive symptoms and cancer-specific distress and who have given their informed consent to be part of the research. The control group of three hundred fifty three women with gynaecological cancer was used to evaluate the result of the two intervention methods as the preferred treatment for these distressed women with gynaecological cancer over the usual care. The program includes follow-ups which ran for several months; this is necessary since the usual treatment is through surgery and chemotherapy which takes about six to twelve months treatment and it is not unusual for the subjects to experience various emotional disorder through the course of their treatment. Emotional disorder experienced by these women range from minor depression, adjustment disorder with depressed mood due to the sudden changes in the subjects life brought on by the diagnosis, dysthymia disorder to major depressive disorder including recurrent brief depressive disorders.
Some patients are even diagnosed with bipolar disorder or psychosis. At present, the projected intent was, as recorded in this particular study, to evaluate whether bolstering both psychological interventions with additional intervention sessions and topics in the disease trajectory will result in persistent long-term (positive) effects. There are no costs to the participant for cooperating in the research since their medication and treatment were provided by the researchers and the sponsoring institutions during the whole duration of the treatment. The results, aside from the mentioned superiority of SC and CCI methods over usual care, also reiterated the fact that this gynaecological cancer induced depression experienced by patients can be controlled and diminished if not totally eradicated. Outcomes of the tests were also used to determine what researches in the future should further evaluate. Discussion The result of the research suggested that the methods used can be useful and will be effective in treating the clients emotional symptoms.
Although she has been surgically treated six months ago and had apparently come out of it successfully, there will still be some on-going medication for her. Chemotherapy is still administered after surgery to prevent re-growth of cancer cells. There is also the danger that the cancer may affect other organs of the body as well like the cerebellum and the central nervous system and you can never be sure. According to one investigation (Pawelski, 1999) some tumors send out microscopic outposts while most do not.
However, medical oncologists cannot tell which ones do, so they want to give chemotherapy in nearly every case. In another printed source (A Comprehensive, Holistic Approach to Treating Ovarian Cancer, 2003) In addition to the reproductive organs, surgeons may also remove the appendix and a portion of an abdominal tissue called the "omentum, " where cancer cells may cluster. The liver and intestines will also be checked for signs of cancer, and biopsies of normal-looking tissue may be taken to see if cancer cells are present. Although there is a clear possibility that her emotional symptoms are induced by the cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment also affects patients in much the same way -- - manic depressive symptoms.
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (2007) reported that: The most common side-effects of this type of chemotherapy treatment involve nausea and vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet and hearing problems. Most side-effects are temporary and resolve after treatment ends.
Effective anti-nausea medications are usually administered and often relieve these symptoms entirely. Hair loss (alopecia) can be very upsetting to many women. Women may consider turbans or wigs during treatment. Hair generally begins to grow back once chemotherapy stops. Fatigue may leave patients feeling physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.
In some cases, fatigue may be reduced by adjusting eating and sleeping schedules and by employing relaxation techniques such as meditation and visualization. (Paragraph 3 - 4) Such stressful behaviors, although normal in the case of these cancer patients, if left unchecked will make a patients case worst than it already is. Apprehension, fear for her life and her family, added to the fatigue caused by her treatment can weaken her physically and drain her emotionally in such a way that she may even lose the will to live. Since a persons mental state determines the attitude towards recovery and healing, it is advisable that the patient be put under such program as CCI and / or SC. Once she is in the program, she will likely realize that the hardest part of the disease was over and what she needs is a steady support from her family and a state of mind determined to fight her illness. Afterall, she had survived surgery and even if there are many cases of recurrence, her attitude towards it may well determine the outcome. The program will also expose the patient to other women who are undergoing the same experiences and hardships as she does.
In such a group, she can easily reach out and share her difficulties with others as well as gain some support from them. Likewise, she will also be able to encourage and give them confidence to reach out to her in return. For although she might have her family's ardent support, will not be enough. The support she will get from such group is different from what she have coming from her loving family. Future research should also include the patients family as an integral part of the program. This is important since many patients are hesitant to join such programs for fear of being stigmatized.
Family support is as important as professional support. Since Coping and Communication-enhancing Intervention and Support Counseling can both be more effective if done by people that has a connection with the patient, it might improve her chances dramatically if not only those that people that she trusts are in the program but also those that she loves as well. Reference Cited Hopkins Health. (2003). A Comprehensive, Holistic Approach to Treating Ovarian Cancer [online version] retrieved on November 20, 2007 from (web basics / overview . come> Manne, S. L. , Rubin, S. , Edleson, M. , Rosenblum, N. , Bergman, C. , Hernandez, E. , Carlson, J. , Rocereto, T. , & Winkel, G. (2007) Coping and communication-enhancing intervention versus supporting counseling for women diagnosed with gynaecological cancers.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 615 - 628. Pawelski, G. D. (1999) the need to Know-A Husbands Perspective Ovarian Cancer [electronic version] retrieved on November 19, 2007 from < web stories / gregory p. html> The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (2007) Quality of Life During and After Cancer Therapy [online version] retrieved on November 19, 2007 from < web >
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Research essay sample on Evaluation Of Treatment For Ovarian Cancer Induced Depression
