NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
Cancer patients who are
optimistic are better able manage the severity of their pain,
while those with a strong sense of mastery (control over their
environment) can control their fatigue more effectively while
also keeping pain severity in check, new research shows.

“These findings underscore the need for physicians and
nurses involved in the care of cancer patients to recognize,
encourage, promote, and take advantage of these traits in their
patients to help them more effectively manage their cancer
care, so that they ultimately can achieve a better quality of
life,” Dr. Margot E. Kurtz and colleagues from Michigan State
University in East Lansing, the study's authors, conclude.

Patients with cancer commonly suffer from both pain and
fatigue, which have a major impact on their quality of life and
their ability to function both mentally and physically, Kurtz
and her team note in the Journal of Pain and Symptom
Management. To better understand the role of a person's
emotional resources in handling these symptoms, the researchers
had 214 patients undergoing chemotherapy complete a 10-week
symptom control intervention program, with a nurse's
assistance. All study participants were interviewed at the
beginning of the study, at 10 weeks, and then again at 16
weeks.

Patients with a strong sense of mastery had less severe
pain and fatigue, the researchers found. The more optimistic
study participants reported less severe pain, although optimism
was not linked with fatigue severity. Older patients and those
with fewer health problems in addition to cancer also had less
severe pain.

There was little difference between patients diagnosed with
late stage illness and those whose cancer was caught early in
their degree of optimism and mastery, the researchers note,
while the number of additional health problems also did not
appear to influence baseline optimism and mastery.

Clinicians can watch for these traits in cancer patients,
Kurtz and her team suggest, and work with their patients to
help them use their optimism and mastery to cope effectively
with their symptoms.

OURCE: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, July 2008.