[Usefulness of Mohs Paste Against Breast Cancer with Skin Invasion].

We report with the addition of literature because we have experienced 3 cases of locally advanced breast cancer with skin invasion that have alleviated symptoms and improved quality of life by using Mohs paste. In Case 1, Mohs paste reduced exposed tumors, exudation, and bleeding. In Case 2, bleeding, which had been the cause of the marked anemia, was controlled, and tumor shrinkage and epithelialization were observed. Case 3 had a poor prognosis due to systemic metastasis, but the QOL improved for a certain period of time as exudation, bleeding, and foul odor were controlled. From the viewpoint of palliative care, Mohs paste is a safe and effective treatment method against various symptoms such as large amounts of exudation, bleeding, and foul odor caused by breast cancer skin invasion, and depending on the case, prognosis can be expected to be extended by shrinking the tumor. The cooperation of not only doctors but also palliative care teams including pharmacists and nurses is essential for use.

The effect of short-time active listening training.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted mental health training incorporating active listening for managers at a site of a general chemical company with 1,400 employees. Our purpose was to clarify the effect of active listening training of 2.5h. METHODS: All subjects were managers. The mental health training was given to 229 managers, 21 times from May 2007 until March 2008. Surveys were conducted from May 2007 to September 2008. The training sessions were conducted in a company meeting room, starting at 2:00 p.m. The importance and significance of listening as a mental health measure and methods of active listening were explained in the training. Afterward, role-playing and follow-up discussions were done twice each. In summaries, participants wrote down what they noticed about listening and gave group presentations. The instructor commented on the presentations, and ended the session by passing out and explaining a paper summarizing what is important in listening. The training was evaluated with a questionnaire distributed at the completion of training, and questionnaires on implementation of what was learned were distributed 1, 3, and 6 mo later. The Active Listening Attitude Scale (ALAS; composed of two scales for method of listening and listening attitude) developed by Mishima et al. was also used before and 1, 3, and 6 mo after the training. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In questionnaires distributed on the same day after training, 60% of the 212 respondents said the training time was just right, and 30.1% felt it was too short. The difficulty level of the training was considered appropriate by 77.8%, and 79.7% intended to implement what they had learned. Overall satisfaction was high at 85.9%. In the questionnaire 6 mo after training, 81.4% of the 145 respondents remembered the content of the training and 49.7% said they were practicing what they had learned. They responded that their conversations with subordinates about non-work topics had increased, and communication and support at work had become smoother. ALAS was administered 4 times, from before training to 6 mo afterward, and analysis was conducted for 84 respondents. No significant difference was seen in attitude to listening, but the score increased compared with before the training. The score for method of listening increased significantly. The same results were seen when the analysis was expanded to 125 respondents before and 6 mo after the training. These results are similar to those reported previously for ALAS. The findings suggest that even short listening training of 2 h and 30 min has a positive lasting effect.