While cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, improvements in cancer treatment have led to increased survival rates, according to the American Cancer Society. As survival rates improve, it becomes more important for patients and their families to have the tools necessary to manage symptoms and provide self-care.
One way to help cancer patients manage treatment-related symptoms is by using a checklist, such as the Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist for Adults (TRSC), to encourage patients to report symptoms. The combining of the TRSC with a Symptom Alleviation: Self-Care Methods tool also allows patients to inform their physician of self-care treatments they have used to alleviate their treatment-related symptoms.
Department of Health Administration and Policy Affiliate Faculty Arthur R. Williams is involved in a feasibility study, published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, examining the use of the TRSC and a self-care assessment for veterans receiving oncology outpatient treatment within the Veterans Affairs system.
“Our goal was to evaluate symptom occurrence and severity based on the self-reported TRSC and to examine self-care, symptom alleviation strategies to determine the relationship among symptom occurrence and severity and patients’ quality of life,” Williams said.
The study included 100 veterans receiving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of both at C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center in Bay Pines, Florida. Study participants had various types of cancer at different stages, and had all received at least two weeks of cancer treatment. A majority of study participants reported 13 symptoms on the TRSC, and similar self-care methods (over-the-counter or prescribed medication, diet change, and rest).
“Although our findings focus on a group of veterans at one VA center, the results suggest that cancer patients experience numerous treatment-related symptoms during their cancer treatment,” Williams said. “Using the TRSC encourages patients to report these symptoms and their severity to their physician, which, in turn, enables providers to determine which symptoms need intervention and where patient education on self-care methods to alleviate these symptoms is needed.”