ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Radiographers and radiation therapists (RTT) meet cancer patients at the diagnosis, radiation treatment and late check-ups. This study aims to gain insight into men's experience concerning the quality of life one year after completing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer to contribute to radiographers' and RTT's understanding of patients' experiences during treatment. METHODS: Six male head and neck cancer survivors were enrolled and interviewed one year after radiation therapy. Semi-structured interview transcriptions were coded to include statements about their experience of quality of life. Siri Næss' definition of quality of life is used as a theoretical framework. RESULTS: This study generated four categories related to the personal experience concerned with the quality of life one year after radiotherapy treatment: Overwhelmed by information, Talking about mental well-being, Transitions - Cured but not healed, and The Fine Details to Quality of Life. There is a tendency that the patients do not express their emotions but express their assessments. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to a nuanced understanding concerning the possibility of high quality of life despite many late effects among men with head and neck cancer. The informants are overwhelmed by information before and after the course of treatment. The fine details in quality of life have a significant influence on the everyday life of head and neck cancer survivors. The findings have implications for radiographers' and RTT's communication, which requires knowledge of the patient's overall course of treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The study indicates that it is vital for informants to be seen. Radiographers and RTT's must know of the patients' course of treatment and apply this in the dialogue with the patients.
Subject(s)
Head and Neck Neoplasms , Quality of Life , Communication , Head and Neck Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Humans , Male , Men , SurvivorsABSTRACT
Between 1980 and 1996, 17 children who were prepubescent have had a combined intraarticular and extraarticular reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament using the iliotibial band that does not violate the physes. The average chronological age of the patients was 11 years (range, 2-14 years) and the average skeletal age of the patients was 10 years (range, 2-13 years). Eight of the 10 patients who had attained skeletal maturity were evaluated at an average of 66.5 months postoperatively (range, 25-168 months). All knees were stable subjectively by history and objectively by KT1000 testing. The average Lysholm score at assessment was 97.4. No child with a traumatic disruption had leg length discrepancy develop.
Subject(s)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament/surgery , Arthroscopy/methods , Endoscopy/methods , Fascia Lata/surgery , Surgical Flaps , Adolescent , Age Determination by Skeleton , Age Factors , Algorithms , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/abnormalities , Anterior Cruciate Ligament/diagnostic imaging , Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries , Arthroscopes , Child , Child, Preschool , Decision Trees , Endoscopes , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Range of Motion, Articular , Severity of Illness Index , Suture Techniques , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A case report of an 8-year-old baseball player who was diagnosed with Legg-Calvé-Perthes (LCP) disease gives an opportunity to consider the many nontraumatic causes of hip pain. Possibilities include slipped capital femoral epiphysis, septic arthritis, transient synovitis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and bone tumor. Radiographs and bone scans are used to document and stage LCP, and to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Though the aggressiveness of treatment depends on the disease stage, the treatment of choice is generally nonsurgical containment of the femoral epiphysis with a cast or orthosis.
