Tag Archives: quality of life

UCLA Uses New Device to Replace Aortic Valve in Patients Who Can’t Have Open-Heart Surgery

UCLA has performed its first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), using a new device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to replace an aortic valve in a patient who was not a candidate for open-heart surgery. The procedure took place on Aug. 9.

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is part of a growing trend of hospitals nationwide offering this new minimally invasive procedure. (more…)

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Nurses Key in Helping New Cancer Patients Overcome Fears

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Often faced with overwhelming anxiety, patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer can find themselves in distress, and new research recommends nurses play a key role in alleviating concerns, leading to a better quality of life for patients.

A diagnosis of lung cancer – the leading cause of cancer death in the United States – brings with it high levels of stress and raises existential issues and death-related thoughts and concerns in patients, said Rebecca H. Lehto, assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Michigan State University. (more…)

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To Be A Scientist

*How Bob Vince changed the world*

Where does it begin, the act of becoming a scientist? Perhaps with a bowling ball, its finger holes packed with explosives, which when detonated, launch the ball into the air, cracking the otherwise pristine concrete walkway of your childhood home in four places, much to the consternation of your father. Or maybe with an explosion of homemade rocket fuel in your basement chemistry lab that scares your mother half to death. And all this before the troublesome teen years.

Bob Vince can’t be sure where his becoming a scientist began. But where it led changed the world. (more…)

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Young Breast Cancer Survivors Face Serious Quality-of-Life Challenges

*Researchers seek ways to address long-term effects of treatment*

Quality of life in younger patients treated for breast cancer is seriously compromised, and these women face more physical and mental health issues than women their age who haven’t had cancer and women over 50 who have, according to a study by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study, published Jan. 20 in the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that younger breast cancer survivors suffer from a slew of problems, including severe psychological distress, infertility, premature menopause, a decrease in physical activity and weight gain. (more…)

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Yes Virginia, People Who Eat Healthier Really Do Live Longer

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Medical and dietary experts have long recommended healthy eating habits. Now, on the eve of one of our most calorically indulgent holidays, a new study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that those with healthy diets really do to live longer and feel better. 

In a study published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from the University of Maryland and five other institutions found that diets favoring “healthier foods” were associated with significantly reduced mortality when compared to diets high in fat and sugar. Their study investigated the associations of dietary patterns with mortality through analysis of the eating patterns of over 2500 adults between the ages of 70 and 79 over a ten-year period.  (more…)

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Women Fight the Effects of Chemotherapy Long After Treatment Ends, MU Researchers Find

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­­­– For some women, the effects of breast cancer, the most common cancer affecting women, do not end when they leave the hospital. Now, researchers in the University of Missouri School of Health Professions have studied the lives of breast cancer patients following chemotherapy and found that their environments and available support systems help determine the quality of their lives.

“A lot of times people get mentally and emotionally ready to deal with chemotherapy and they receive a lot of support during that time,” said Stephanie Reid-Arndt, an assistant professor of health psychology in the School of Health Professions. “Then they go home and everyone feels like it’s over, but the patients still have worries and fears about the changes they’ve been through and what it means for the future.” (more…)

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