Search

Cancer prevention and control services worldwide must actively rebuild and contribute to improved health systems resilience alongside and beyond the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease) pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer advocacy groups should respond to this unprecedented challenge as an opportunity to bolster community and patient involvement in research and clinical practice that is adjusted to local needs and circumstances. This short communication provides a synthesis of these critical challenges and, stemming from the pioneering activities of Gordon McVie on patient empowerment, urges policy makers and researchers to develop new implementation strategies that start from the social, economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to overcome roadblocks in the access to cancer care. We propose that developing the domain of collaborative implementation research in national cancer control plans will be the key to consolidate patient-centred services with both an equity lens and a focus on integration of new technologies as all countries drive towards the 2030 goals of universal health coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of neobladder and urostomy on bladder cancer patient's health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is controversial and many issues currently remain underinvestigated. Initial studies pointed out that the emotional responses of caregivers might be 'contagious', influencing emotional reactions in bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy. Methods: Three hundred and eighty-two bladder cancer patients (aged M = 67.29 years; SD = 9.23) (16.9% (65) were female and 82.9% (319) were male) and their caregivers were enrolled. Data were collected prospectively: at TO (1 month before the surgery), at T1 (2 weeks after the surgery, at patient discharge from the hospital) and at T2 (6-month follow-up). At each time point (TO, T1 and T2), a set of questionnaires (EORT QLQ-C30 and emotion thermometer) were given to patients and their caregivers. Results: All patients reported a general improvement in the HR-QoL and global health status/QoL from TO to T2 (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between neobladder and urostomy. At T0, the emotional thermometer total scoring in caregivers was positive in relation to HR-QoL (p < 0.001) and negative in relation to the patient's perception of QoL (p < 0.001) and global health (p < 0.001). Similar trends were observed at T1 and T2. Conclusions: These results suggest that patients and their caregiver's emotional reactions to cancer are deep-rooted and strongly interconnected, and they provide innovative insights for the clinical management of bladder cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]