The role of mental adjustment dimensions and disease stage in predicting cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients with cancer

Rasoulzadeh, Behzad; Hajloo, Nader; Fathi, Mahnaz

doi:10.22098/jrp.2023.12239.1158

The role of mental adjustment dimensions and disease stage in predicting cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients with cancer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

² Professor, Department of Psychology, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

³ MA Student. Department of Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

10.22098/jrp.2023.12239.1158

Abstract

Nowadays cancer is considered as a major public health problem, hence, it always remains as a part of research priorities. Physical and psychological distress in cancer creates a lot of stress. Fatigue is one of the symptoms experienced by patients with cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of mental adjustment dimensions and disease stage in predicting cancer related fatigue. The sample comprised of 120 patients hospitalized in Tajrish Shohada Hospital in Tehran in 2014 who were selected purposively. For collecting data, the questionnaires of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy- Fatigue (FACT-F), and the mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (mini-MAC) were used. Multiple regression was also used to analyze the data. The overall regression model showed the significant role of variables such as disease stage and dimensions of mental adjustment in cancer related fatigue in such patients (p <0.01). The R2 value indicated that 17% of fatigue changes can be explained by the predictor variables. So besides providing physical care and nursing interventions, considering the presence of psychologists to pay attention to the psychological components of cancer patient’s lives for increasing patient’s mental adjustment and consequently reducing fatigue is important.

Keywords

References

Alexander, S., Minton, O., Andrews, P., & Stone, P. (2009). A comparison of the characteristics of disease-free breast cancer survivors with or without cancer-related fatigue syndrome. European journal of cancer, 45(3), 384-392. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2008.09.010

Ancoli, S., Liu, L., Marler, M. R., Parker, B. A., Jones, V., Sadler, G. R., ... & Fiorentino, L. (2006). Fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms prior to chemotherapy for breast cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer, 14, 201-209. doi:10.1007%2Fs00520-005-0861-0

Aranda, S., Milne, D., & Osmond, F. (2002). A breast care nurse evaluation report. Melbourne: Victorian Centre for Nursing Practice Research. doi:10.1188/11.onf.627-631

Balachandran, D. D., Faiz, S., Bashoura, L., & Manzullo, E. (2013). Cancer-related fatigue and sleep disorders. Sleep medicine clinics, 8(2), 229-234. doi:10.1177%2F2050313X17748865

Berger, A. M., Farr, L. A., Kuhn, B. R., Fischer, P., & Agrawal, S. (2007). Values of sleep/wake, activity/rest, circadian rhythms, and fatigue prior to adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy. Journal of pain and symptom management, 33(4), 398-409. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.09.022

Boyes, A. W., Girgis, A., D'Este, C., & Zucca, A. C. (2011). Flourishing or floundering? Prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depression among a population-based sample of adult cancer survivors 6 months after diagnosis. Journal of affective disorders, 135(1-3), 184-192. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2011.07.016

Brown, L. F., & Kroenke, K. (2009). Cancer-related fatigue and its associations with depression and anxiety: a systematic review. Psychosomatics, 50(5), 440-447. doi:10.1176%2Fappi.psy.50.5.440

Campbell, A., Mutrie, N., White, F., McGuire, F., & Kearney, N. (2005). A pilot study of a supervised group exercise programme as a rehabilitation treatment for women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant treatment. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 9(1), 56-63. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2004.03.007

Castori, M., Morlino, S., Celletti, C., Celli, M., Morrone, A., Colombi, M., ... & Grammatico, P. (2012). Management of pain and fatigue in the joint hypermobility syndrome (aka Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, hypermobility type): principles and proposal for a multidisciplinary approach. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 158(8), 2055-2070. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.35483

Chao, C. C., Chen, S. H., Wang, C. Y., Wu, Y. C., & Yeh, C. H. (2003). Psychosocial adjustment among pediatric cancer patients and their parents. Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 57(1), 75-81. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1819.2003.01082.x

Dimeo, F., Rumberger, B. G., & Keul, J. (1998). Aerobic exercise as therapy for cancer fatigue. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 30(4), 475-478. doi:10.1097/00005768-199804000-00001

Dunkel-Schetter, C., Feinstein, L. G., Taylor, S. E., & Falke, R. L. (1999). Patterns of coping with cancer. doi:10.1037/10338-002

Eiser, C., Hill, J. J., & Vance, Y. H. (2000). Examining the psychological consequences of surviving childhood cancer: Systematic review as a research method in pediatric psychology. Journal of pediatric psychology, 25(6), 449-460. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/25.6.449

Fernandes, R., Stone, P., Andrews, P., Morgan, R., & Sharma, S. (2006). Comparison between fatigue, sleep disturbance, and circadian rhythm in cancer inpatients and healthy volunteers: evaluation of diagnostic criteria for cancer-related fatigue. Journal of pain and symptom management, 32(3), 245-254. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2006.03.014

Gotheridge, S. M., & Dresner, N. (2002). Psychological adjustment to gynecologic cancer. Primary care update for ob/gyns, 9(2), 80-84.

Hill, D. J., Giles, G. G., Mapperson, K. J., Russell, I. S., & Collins, J. P. (1990). Management of primary, operable breast cancer in Victoria. Medical journal of Australia, 152(2), 67-72. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1990.tb124457.x

Huang, H. P., Chen, M. L., Liang, J., & Miaskowski, C. (2014). Changes in and predictors of severity of fatigue in women with breast cancer: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(4), 582-592. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.09.003

Isikhan, V., Güner, P., Kömürcü, S., Özet, A., Arpaci, F., & Öztürk, B. (2001). The relationship between disease features and quality of life in patients with cancer—I. Cancer nursing, 24(6), 490-495. doi:10.1097/00002820-200112000-00012

Johansson, M. (2010). Mental adjustment and Health-related: Quality of Life In laryngeal cancer patients Quantitative and Qualitative approaches. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/23253

Koornstra, R. H., Peters, M., Donofrio, S., van den Borne, B., & de Jong, F. A. (2014). Management of fatigue in patients with cancer–a practical overview. Cancer treatment reviews, 40(6), 791-799. doi:10.1016/j.ctrv.2014.01.004

Lampic, C., Wennberg, A., Schill, J. E., Glimelius, B., Brodin, O., & Sjödén, P. O. (1994). Coping, psychosocial well-being and anxiety in cancer patients at follow-up visits. Acta Oncologica, 33(8), 887-894. doi:10.3109/02841869409098451

Minagawa, H., Uchitomi, Y., Yamawaki, S., & Ishitani, K. (1996). Psychiatric morbidity in terminally III cancer patients: A prospective study. Cancer: Interdisciplinary International Journal of the American Cancer Society, 78(5), 1131-1137. doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19960901)78:5%3C1131::aid-cncr26%3E3.0.co;2-2

Schwartz, A. L. (2000). Daily fatigue patterns and effect of exercise in women with breast cancer. Cancer practice, 8(1), 16-24. doi:10.1046/j.1523-5394.2000.81003.x

Servaes, P., van der Werf, S., Prins, J., Verhagen, S., & Bleijenberg, G. (2001). Fatigue in disease-free cancer patients compared with fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Supportive care in cancer, 9, 11-17. doi:10.1007/s005200000165

Stein, K. D., Syrjala, K. L., & Andrykowski, M. A. (2008). Physical and psychological long‐term and late effects of cancer. Cancer, 112(S11), 2577-2592. doi:10.1002/cncr.23448

Tennant, K. (2015). Assessment of fatigue in older adults: the FACIT Fatigue Scale (version 4). Supportive Care in Cancer, 23(5), 1355-1364.