Palliative Medicine

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Strasser, F
Right arrow Articles by Kesselring, A
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Strasser, F
Right arrow Articles by Kesselring, A
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Palliative Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 2, 129-137 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269216307076346

Fighting a losing battle: eating-related distress of men with advanced cancer and their female partners. A mixed-methods study

F Strasser

Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen, florian.strasser{at}kssg.ch

J Binswanger

Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen

T Cerny

Department of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen

A Kesselring

Institute of Nursing Science, University of Basel, Basel

Background: Anorexia/cachexia is a frequent complication of advanced cancer with poorly understood psychosocial impact or eating-related distress (ERD) on both patients and family members. To assist palliative care practitioners manage this important psychosocial aspect of care, we aimed to discover and describe elements of ERD, focusing on male patients with advanced cancer and their female partners.

Methods: Nineteen male patients and their partners were systematically investigated by (1) focus group interviews and data analysis inspired by Grounded Theory, and (2) a comparative survey with categorical questions.

Results: For patients, eating-related distress was characterised by obstruction to eating, poor and capricious appetite, a disconnection of oral intake and ability to gain weight, and continuous efforts to eat. Partners expressed feelings of deep concern, frustration, and insufficiency in their loving and innovative efforts to prepare appealing food. Partners were more concerned about patients’ weight loss than patients themselves (P =0.002). Patients felt more pressure to eat from partners than they estimated (P =0.007).

Conclusion: Anorexia/cachexia of male cancer patients affects the cooking at home, a couple’s daily eating routines, and their spousal relationship. Identification of ERD may trigger targeted psychosocial interventions.

Key Words: anorexia • cachexia • cancer • distress • nutrition • psycho-oncology


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?