Abstract
This study was conducted to develop an objective problems-in-living scale to identify the needs of cancer survivors after a demanding treatment such as bone marrow transplantation (BMT). A total of 99 adult BMT survivors completed questionnaires containing the 29 items included in the Cancer Problems-In-Living Scale (CPILS). These BMT survivors were most concerned about return of their illness or relapsing, the future, fatigue, not physically being able to have sexual intercourse, changes in their physical appearance, being concerned about infection and crowds, difficulty in obtaining adequate insurance, losing health insurance by changing jobs, and difficulty in meeting medical expenses. The CPILS showed a good level of internal consistency (α = .91). The hypothesis that BMT survivors who had lower levels of physical functioning would experience more problems with living was supported by correlation (.48, p < .001) of the CPILS with the Self-Rated Karnofsky Performance Scale. The construct validity of the CPILS was further supported by a significant negative correlation (−.66, p < .002) with the scores of BMT survivors on a quality-of-life measure, the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale for BMT.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Cancer Society. (2001). Cancer facts and figures, 2001. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society.
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: America's perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum.
Andrykowski, M. A., & McQuellon, R. P. (1998). Bone marrow transplantation. In J. C. Holland (Ed.), Psycho-oncology (pp. 289-299). New York: Oxford University Press.
Baker, F. (2000). Assessing the quality of life of cancer survivors. The Behavioral Measurement Letter, 7(1), 2-12.
Baker, F., Curbow, B. A., & Wingard, J. R. (1991). Role retention and quality of life of bone marrow transplant survivors. Social Science and Medicine, 6, 697-704.
Baker, F., Curbow, B. A., & Wingard, J. R. (1992). Development of the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale for cancer. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 10(3), 75-90.
Baker, F., & Northman, J. E. (1981). Helping. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Baker, F., Wingard, J. R., Curbow, B. A., Zabora, J. G., Jodrey, D., Fogarty, L., & Legro, M. W. (1994). Quality of life of bone marrow transplant long-term survivors. Bone Marrow Transplantation, 13, 589-596.
Baker, F., Zabora, J. G., Jodrey, D., Polland, A., & Marcellus, D. (1995). Quality of life and social support of patients being evaluated for bone marrow transplantation. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 2(4), 357-372.
Baker, F., Zabora, J. G., Polland, A., Burns, J., & Wingard, J. R. (1999). Reintegration after bone marrow transplantation. Cancer Practice, 7(4), 190-197.
Bucher, J. A., Loscalzo, M., Zabora, J. R., Houts, P. S., Hooker, C., & BrintzenhofeSzoc, K. (2001). Problem-solving cancer care education for patients and caregivers. Cancer Practice, 9(2), 66-70.
Byers, T., Mouchawar, J., Marks, J., Cady, B., Lins, N., Swanson, G. M., et al. (1999). The American Cancer Society challenge goals. How far can cancer rates decline in the US by the year 2015? Cancer, 86, 715-727.
Cella, D. F., & Tulsky, D. S. (1993). Quality of life in cancer: Definition, purpose, and method of measurement. Cancer Investigation, 11(3), 327-336.
DuHamel, K. N., Ostroff, J. S., Bovbjerg, D. H., Pfeffer, M., Morasco, B. J., Papadopoulos, E., et al. (2000). Trauma-focused intervention after bone marrow transplantation: A case study. Behavior Therapy, 31(1), 175-186.
Fawzy, F. I., Fawzy, N. W., Arndt, L. A., & Pasnau, R. O. (1995). Critical review of psychosocial interventions in cancer care. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52(2), 100-113.
Houts, P. S., Nezu, A. M., Nezu, C. M., & Bucher, J. A. (1996). The prepared family caregiver: A problem-solving approach to family caregiver education. Patient Education and Counseling, 27(1), 63-73.
Jacobsen, P. B., Widows, M. R., Hann, D. M., Andrykowski, M. A., Kronish, L. E., & Fields, K. K. (1998). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms after bone marrow transplantation for breast cancer. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60(3), 366-371.
Karnofsky, D. A., Abelmann, W. H., Craver, L. F., & Burchneal, J. H. (1948). The use of nitrogen mustards in the palliative treatment of cancer. Cancer, 53, 2002-2007.
Kornblith, A. B., Herndon, J. E., Zuckerman, E., Cella, D. F., Cherin, E., Wolchok, S., et al. (1998). Comparison of psychosocial adaptation of advanced stage Hodgkin's disease and acute leukemia survivors. Cancer and Leukemia group B. Annals of Oncology, 9(3), 297-306.
Lesko, L. M. (1995). Psychiatric aspects of bone marrow transplantation. In A. Stoudemire & B. Fogel (Eds.), Medical-psychiatric practice (pp. 415-466). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
McQuellon, R. P., Russell, G. B., Cella, D. F., Craven, B. L., Brady, M., Bonomi, A., et al. (1997). Quality of life measurement in bone marrow transplantation: Development of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT) scale. Bone Marrow Transplantation, 19, 357-368.
McQuellon, R. P., Russell, G. B., Rambo, T. D., Craven, B. L., Radford, J., Perry, J. J., et al. (1998). Quality of life and psychological distress of bone marrow transplant recipients: The ‘time trajectory’ to recovery over the first year. Bone Marrow Transplantation, 21(5), 477-486.
Mor, V., Laliberte, L., Morris, J. N., & Weinmann, M. (1984). The Karnofsky performance status scale: An examination of its reliability and validity in a research setting. Cancer, 53, 2002-2007.
Nezu, A. M., & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1979). An experimental evaluation of the decision-making process in social problem solving. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 3(3), 269-277.
Nezu, A. M., & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1981a). Effects of problem definition and formulation on decision making in the problem-solving process. Behavior Therapy, 12(1), 100-106.
Nezu, A. M., & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1981b). Effects of problem definition and formulation on the generation of alternatives in the social problem-solving process. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 5(3), 265-271.
Nezu, A. M., Nezu, C. M., Houts, P. S., Friedman, S. H., & Faddis, S. (1999). Relevance of problem-solving to psychosocial oncology. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 16(3/4), 5-26.
Nezu, A. M., & Perri, M. G. (1989). Social problem-solving therapy for unipolar depression: An initial dismantling investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(3), 408-413.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Sutherland, H. J., Fyles, G. M., Adams, G., Hao, Y., Lipton, J. H., Minden, M. D., et al. (1997). Quality of life following bone marrow transplantation: A comparison of patient reports with population norms. Bone Marrow Transplantation, 19(11), 1129-1136.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baker, F., Denniston, M., Zabora, J.R. et al. Cancer Problems in Living and Quality of Life After Bone Marrow Transplantation. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings 10, 27–34 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022801713046
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022801713046