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- Carlsson, Marianne, et al.
(författare)
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A five-year follow-up of quality of life in women with breast cancer in anthroposophic and conventional care
- 2006
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Ingår i: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1741-427X .- 1741-4288. ; 3:4, s. 523-531
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complementary and alternative medicine is used by many cancer patients in most parts of the world, and its use is increasing. The aim of the present study was to examine, over 5 years, the perceived quality of life/life satisfaction in two samples of women with breast cancer who were treated with anthroposophic care or conventional medical treatment only. Data from admission, after I year and after 5 years are used for the comparisons. On admission to the study the women in anthroposophic care perceived their quality of life to be lower than that of the women in the conventional treatment group, especially for emotional, cognitive and social functioning and overall quality of life. Sixty women who actively chose treatment with anthroposophic medicine and 60 individually matched women treated with conventional medicine participated. Quality of life was measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. Twenty-six women within anthroposophic care and 31 women within conventional medicine survived the 5 years. Effect size (ES) estimation favored the anthroposophic group in seven of the subscales mostly measuring emotional functioning. The ES for four of the subscales favored the conventional treatment group, mostly concerning physical functioning. After 5 years there were improvements in overall quality of life and in emotional and social functioning compared to admission for the women in anthroposophic care. The improvements took place between admission and 1 year, but not further on. Only minor improvements were found in the matching group.
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| 2. |
- Carlsson, Marianne, et al.
(författare)
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Coping in women with breast cancer in complementary and conventional care over 5 years measured by the mental adjustment to cancer scale
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1075-5535 .- 1557-7708. ; 11:3, s. 441-447
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Many patients with cancer, women more often than men, use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and care. Our aim was to examine coping over 5 years (November 1995 to January 1999) in two samples of women with breast cancer who were treated with anthroposophic care or conventional medical treatment. The present study is part of a larger study of the outcome of anthroposophic care for women with breast cancer. Design: A nonrandomized controlled trial design was used with individual matching and repeated measurements on six occasions (at admission, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years). The matching was based on the following variables: stage of disease at entry, age, treatment during the 3 months before entering the study, and prognosis. Setting: An anthroposophic hospital and conventional hospitals in Sweden. Subjects: Sixty (60) women treated with anthroposophic medicine and 60 women from an oncology outpatient department participated. Forty-nine (49) women in anthroposophic care and 51 in the outpatient group survived 1 year, 26 women in anthroposophic care and 31 in the outpatient group survived 5 years. Intervention: An anthroposophic care program. Outcome measure: Coping was measured using the Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale. Repeat measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for within-group comparisons, and effect size (ES) was used for between-group comparisons. Results: The women in anthroposophic care showed more passive and anxious coping on admission, but this decreased over time. In the women in anthroposophic care, there were small ES improvements in fighting spirit and passive, anxious coping at 4 of the measured timepoints compared to admission. Conclusion: The choice of anthroposophic care could be seen as a possible way to cope with emotional distress in this group of women with breast cancer. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
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