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Purpose: Eating difficulties cause reduced food intake and poor quality of life among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Therefore, next-of-kin eating support is crucial. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of being close to AYAs with cancer in the context of eating when they are at home between high-emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) sessions., Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 next-of-kin to AYAs (15-29 years old) with oncological or haematological diseases, treated with HEC. Van Manen's hermeneutic-phenomenological approach guided the design., Results: The essential meaning of the next-of-kin experiences is reflected in the overarching theme "Utilizing meals as an action-opportunity" consisting of two subthemes: 'Being on constant alert' and "Walking a tightrope to maintain usual everyday life.", Conclusions: Findings revealed that utilizing meals as an action-opportunity towards AYAs' food intake involved existential feelings including fear of losing their loved ones. Next-of-kin experienced that providing support through and with food was their only avenue of action. However, this sparked feelings of frustration and powerlessness.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide in-depth understanding of adolescents' and young adults' (AYAs') lived experiences of eating when they are at home between high-emetogenic chemotherapy sessions. Methods: The study was guided by van Manen's hermeneutic-phenomenological methodology. Eligible AYAs were 15-29 years old, diagnosed with either oncological or hematological cancer, treated with high-emetogenic chemotherapy, and Danish speaking. AYAs were recruited from three university hospital departments. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results: Thirteen AYAs, aged 17-29 years, participated in the interviews via telephone or face-to-face in their homes. The essential meaning of the phenomenon of eating can be characterized by the overarching theme " Struggling to eat to survive " and unfolded through the following three themes: " Cooperating with a deceiving body ", " Capturing moments of eating opportunities ", and " Being loved and cared for at home ". Conclusions: Struggling to eat was essential for survival and a fundamental existential challenge that required reflection and consciousness. AYAs experienced their deceiving bodies as a major concern, which challenged their ability to eat and forced them to develop strategies to capture moments of eating opportunities. AYAs kept hold of doing "something" themselves to maintain the slightest control of their own lives and thereby assist clinical outcomes and cure. However, AYAs had to struggle with food and start viewing food as a friend, not an enemy.

Purpose: This study explored how the phenomenon of meals appeared in the interrelationship between adolescents and young adults (AYAs) receiving high-emetogenic chemotherapy, their next of kin and health professionals in the clinical setting., Method: Data were collected by 140 h of participant observation conducted to gain insights into the nature of how meals appeared in the interrelationship between 12 AYAs (age 15-29 years), their next-of-kin and health professionals. The AYAs were patients with oncological and haematological diseases recruited from three university hospital departments. Data analysis was guided by van Manen's hermeneutic-phenomenological approach., Results: The essential meaning of the phenomenon may be characterized by the overarching theme; 'Seeking the joy of meals in the shadow of treatment' and the following three themes: 'Meals as a necessary evil' (AYAs); 'Meals as a matter of love' (next-of-kin); and 'Meals in the shadow of medical treatment' (health professionals)., Conclusions: Meals is a multi-facetted and complex phenomenon that has different meanings to AYAs, next-of-kin and health professionals. To the AYAs, meals emerged as a necessary evil in connection with which urges to eat occurred as glimpses of desire. Prominent feelings of powerlessness and food as love were highlighted by the next-of-kin, whereas food and meals appeared secondary to treatment for health professionals, reflecting the traditional biomedical paradigm. The findings revealed that adopting a holistic approach to AYAs concerning meals can have the potential to increase their food intake., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Purpose: This study presents Danish consensus guidelines for delineation of the heart and cardiac substructures across relevant Danish Multidisciplinary Cancer Groups., Material and Methods: Consensus guidelines for the heart and cardiac substructures were reached among 15 observers representing the radiotherapy (RT) committees of four Danish Multidisciplinary Cancer Groups. The guidelines were validated on CT scans of 12 patients, each with five independent contour sets. The Sørensen-Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), the distance between the centers of the arteries and the mean surface distance were used to evaluate the inter-observer variation., Results: National guidelines for contouring the heart and cardiac substructures were achieved. The median DSC was 0.78-0.96 for the heart and the four cardiac chambers. For the four substructures of the left ventricle, the median DSC was 0.35-0.57. The coronary arteries were contoured in ten segments, with the best agreement for the left anterior descending coronary artery segments, with a median distance between the arteries ranging from 2.4-4.4 mm. The median variation was 3.7-12.8 mm for the right coronary artery segments and 3.7-6.2 mm for the left circumflex coronary artery segments, with the most pronounced inter-observer variation in the distal segment for all three coronary arteries., Conclusion: National guidelines for contouring the heart and cardiac substructures were developed across relevant Danish Multidisciplinary Cancer Groups, where RT dose to the heart is of concern. The inter-observer contour overlap was best for the heart and chambers and decreased for smaller structures., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)