Cancer Treatment, Symptom Monitoring, And Self-Care In Adults

The study conducted by Williams et al. involved 37 adults undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy for various cancers, including leukemia, lymphomas, breast, head and neck, and lung cancers. It focused on self-reported symptoms and self-care strategies. Patients on chemotherapy reported severe symptoms such as fatigue, eating difficulties, nausea, pain, numbness, hair loss, and constipation, while those on radiation therapy reported issues with eating, fatigue, skin changes, oropharynx, and constipation. Self-care strategies were categorized into diet/nutrition/lifestyle changes, mind/body control, biologic treatments, herbal treatments, and ethnomedicine, with diet/nutrition/lifestyle changes being the most common. The study suggested that the Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist could help prioritize interventions based on symptom severity, but emphasized the need for larger studies to evaluate its effectiveness and the impact of self-care strategies on symptom relief.