CHRONIC ILLNESS: CANCER AND OTHER CHRONIC CONDITIONS

A. Cancer: Medical Aspects
1. What is cancer?
  a. Neoplastic cells: benign vs. malignant
  b. Carcinomas, sarcomas, leukemias and lymphomas
2. Changing mortality rates
  a. Long-term trends: bad news
  b. Recent trends: good news and bad
  c. What is influencing these trends?

B. Risk Factors in Cancer
1. Non-modifiable risk factors
  a. Age
  b. Sex
  c. Familial history and genetics
    (1) Single gene theories
    (2) Polygenic predisposition
  d. Ethnicity
2. Modifiable risk factors
  a. Environmental
    (1) Environmental toxins and pollutants
    (2) Radiation
    (3) Sunlight (ultraviolet radiation)
  b. Behavioral
    (1) Smoking
    (2) Diet: risk-enhancing and risk-reducing
    (3) Excessive drinking
    (4) Exercise
    (5) Sexual behaviors
  c. Emotional
    (1) Suppression of emotion
    (2) Depression
    (3) Passive acceptance
  d. Social
    (1) Education and income
    (2) Social support
3. Psychosocial intervention
  a. Barriers to behavior/lifestyle change
    (1) Habit
    (2) Health beliefs: perceptions of risk, vulnerability, self-efficacy
  b. The objectives
    (1) Reducing modifiable risks
    (2) Increasing survival rates and survival times
  c. The methods
    (1) Changes in diet
    (2) Smoking cessation
    (3) Releasing emotions and fighting back
    (4) Social support
    (5) Environmental action

C. Other Chronic Conditions
1. What is the impact of chronic illness?
  a. The influence of crisis theory
  b. Impact on the patient
  c. Impact on the family
2. The role of rehabilitation in chronic illness
  a. Cardiac rehabilitation
  b. Brain and spinal cord injuries
  c. Stroke
  d. Neuromuscular diseases
  e. Cancer
3. Psychosocial  interventions
  a. Typical psychological reactions
    (1) Depression, helplessness and hopelessness
    (2) Passivity and withdrawal
    (3) Anger
  b. Objectives and methods
4. Diabetes
  a. The physiology of diabetes
  b. Impact on patients and families
  c. The role of health psychology
5. HIV and AIDS
  a. Medical aspects
  b. Recent trends in incidence and mortality
  c. Behavioral risk factors
    (1) Sexual transmission
    (2) IV drug use
    (3) Risks to healthcare professionals
  d. The role of health psychology
    (1) Living with HIV and AIDS
    (2) Reducing risks
6. Alzheimer’s disease
  a. The dementias
    (1) Medical aspects
    (2) Incidence
    (3) Differential diagnosis
  b. Impact on patients, families and society
  c. Risk factors in Alzheimer’s
  d. The role of health psychology

Copyright ©1998 Beverly J. Volicer and Steven F. Tello, UMass Lowell.  You may freely edit these pages  for use in a non-profit, educational setting.  Please include this copyright notice on all pages.