84,330 research outputs found

    Men’s experiences of having breast cancer: a comparison with women’s experiences

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    Background: In the UK, men with breast cancer account for1% of all new cases of breast cancer with only 341 men receiving this diagnosis throughout the UK in 2008 (Cancer Research, 2010b). There is a lack of research on all aspects of men with breast cancer in large part due to the rarity of the disease. However it is the psychosocial effects of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, and the subsequent support available to men, that has in particular been ignored. To date, no study compares men’s and women’s experiences of having breast cancer. Furthermore, breast cancer is arguably at the most extreme ‘female’ end of a spectrum of illnesses that men can experience, and is likely to pose particular challenges for men’s identities, which may have profound implications for their use of health services, attitudes to treatment and living beyond their cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study therefore is to compare men’s and women’s experiences of having breast cancer and what effect, if any, having a ‘female’ cancer has on a man’s identity. Methods: The data on men’s experiences of breast cancer derive from interviews with 19 men with breast cancer in which semi-structured questions and prompts explored: what prompted them to seek help for their breast symptom; their own reactions to having breast cancer; the reactions of family, friends, colleagues and health professionals; their experience of treatment; the embodied effects of treatment and living beyond their breast cancer diagnosis. These data were collected using the methods employed by researchers at the Health Experiences Research Group in Oxford, see www.healthtalkonline.org, so that a) they could contribute towards a new module on men’s experiences of breast cancer, and b) they could be compared with existing interviews on women’s experiences of breast cancer. The transcripts of 23 interviews with women who had breast cancer were made available for secondary analysis. The interviews with men with breast cancer were undertaken in such a way that direct comparison was possible. Analysis of both collections was undertaken using the framework approach to compare the men’s and women’s experiences of having breast cancer. Findings: The findings demonstrated both similarities and differences between men’s and women’s experiences of having breast cancer. First, the help-seeking practices of the men and women were found to be similar. The men were largely ignorant that men could get breast cancer, but this did not prevent some from attending their doctor. In turn, knowing that women can get breast cancer did not ensure women sought help for their breast symptom straight away. Help-seeking was found to be a complex process for both men and women that shared some push/pull elements that influenced their help-seeking. The disclosure practices of the men and women were found to be similar and changed over time. Men used ‘strategic announcing’ to educate other men of the risk of breast cancer in men. The women in this study changed their disclosure behaviour to either protect their families from their illness, or themselves from negative encounters with people. The men also described feeling they had to disclose their illness when treatment side effects made them look ill, whereas some women described using aids such as wigs and prostheses to conceal changes in their appearance. Contrasting experiences of healthcare were reported by men and women. The women were often given a treatment choice, could access information at different points throughout their treatment and had a variety of support networks. In contrast, the men were given few choices in their treatment, little or female-specific information, and reported limited sources of support. The men recounted negative experiences in the clinic and ward setting. They were mistaken as supporters not as the patient, experienced suspicion from female patients and were not given adequate resources to manage their treatment. In contrast, most women had positive experiences during their treatment and felt supported within the healthcare environment. There was some evidence to suggest the effect on their closest relationships was similar for men and women with breast cancer. Most married men and women suggested their relationships had remained good and in some cases improved, adapting to physical changes and expressing their affection in other ways. The wives of men with breast cancer played a key role during their experiences of help-seeking, disclosure, offering support and retrieving information. Most of the men in this study appeared to successfully renegotiate their masculine identities to incorporate their breast cancer experiences. Some men felt their new role was to educate and ‘spread the word’ that men can, and do, develop breast cancer. A renegotiated traditional male stereotype was constructed including traditionally female characteristics to present an identity that enabled the men to cope with negative experiences within their communities and the healthcare setting. Conclusions: There are similarities in the experiences of men and women with breast cancer. However, a lack of awareness men can develop breast cancer and the rarity of the disease has led to the development of female specific services and treatment. Greater social awareness and gender-sensitive healthcare is necessary to improve the experiences of men with breast cancer

    Pre and Post-hoc Diagnosis and Interpretation of Malignancy from Breast DCE-MRI

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    We propose a new method for breast cancer screening from DCE-MRI based on a post-hoc approach that is trained using weakly annotated data (i.e., labels are available only at the image level without any lesion delineation). Our proposed post-hoc method automatically diagnosis the whole volume and, for positive cases, it localizes the malignant lesions that led to such diagnosis. Conversely, traditional approaches follow a pre-hoc approach that initially localises suspicious areas that are subsequently classified to establish the breast malignancy -- this approach is trained using strongly annotated data (i.e., it needs a delineation and classification of all lesions in an image). Another goal of this paper is to establish the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches when applied to breast screening from DCE-MRI. Relying on experiments on a breast DCE-MRI dataset that contains scans of 117 patients, our results show that the post-hoc method is more accurate for diagnosing the whole volume per patient, achieving an AUC of 0.91, while the pre-hoc method achieves an AUC of 0.81. However, the performance for localising the malignant lesions remains challenging for the post-hoc method due to the weakly labelled dataset employed during training.Comment: Submitted to Medical Image Analysi

    Histopathological image analysis : a review

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    Over the past decade, dramatic increases in computational power and improvement in image analysis algorithms have allowed the development of powerful computer-assisted analytical approaches to radiological data. With the recent advent of whole slide digital scanners, tissue histopathology slides can now be digitized and stored in digital image form. Consequently, digitized tissue histopathology has now become amenable to the application of computerized image analysis and machine learning techniques. Analogous to the role of computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) algorithms in medical imaging to complement the opinion of a radiologist, CAD algorithms have begun to be developed for disease detection, diagnosis, and prognosis prediction to complement the opinion of the pathologist. In this paper, we review the recent state of the art CAD technology for digitized histopathology. This paper also briefly describes the development and application of novel image analysis technology for a few specific histopathology related problems being pursued in the United States and Europe

    The relationship between self-blame for the onset of a chronic physical health condition and emotional distress : a systematic literature review

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    Objective: Past literature presents contrasting perspectives regarding the potential influence of self-blame on adjustment to illness. This systematic literature review aimed to summarise findings from all investigations to date that have explored the relationship between self-blame for the onset of a chronic physical health condition and emotional distress. Method: Between November 2014 and February 2015 electronic databases were searched for relevant literature. Only those studies which assessed self-blame directly and related specifically to illness onset were included within the review. The methodological and reporting quality of all eligible articles was assessed and themes within the findings were discussed using a narrative synthesis approach. Results: The majority of studies found self-blame to be associated with increased distress. However, several concerns with the quality of the reviewed articles may undermine the validity of their conclusions. Conclusions: It is important for professionals supporting people with chronic physical health conditions to have an understanding of how of self-critical causal attributions might relate to emotional distress. Further research is required to understand the concept of self-blame, the factors that may encourage this belief and to develop reliable and valid measures of this experience

    The impact of culture and sociological and psychological issues on Muslim patients with breast cancer in Pakistan

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    This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in Cancer Nursing, 32(4), 2009. The final published article is available from the link below.Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in Muslim women in Pakistan. The impact of the initial diagnosis, culture, religion, and psychosocial and psychological aspects of the disease is not well established. This qualitative study examined the experience and coping strategies used by patients with breast cancer in relation to its impact on their physical, mental health, religious, and family issues. Thirty patients with breast cancer were interviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The patient's experience of breast cancer focused on the range of emotions felt throughout the illness trajectory, the importance of religion and family support on coping strategies used to manage the adverse effects of chemotherapy, and also the financial concerns. This is the first study to examine Pakistani Muslim women's views on the lived experience of breast cancer. This article provides clarification of the voiced experiences of women with breast cancer. The data not only highlight the role of religion and family support as essential coping strategies but also emphasize the issues of isolation, aggression, and anger as common responses to chemotherapy. Unique features of this study are women's need to seek spiritual support for their illness and the overriding innate characteristic of maternal responsibility. These cultural features require further analysis and research
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