An Exploration Of Functional Decline And The Potential For Rehab In Patients With Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$50,000.00
Summary
Lung cancer is one of the commonest human cancers and the leading cause of cancer deaths. People with advanced cancer experience significant decline in functional capacity as their disease advances and they approach death. This decline is likely to have significant impact on quality of life. In lung cancer this decline can be exacerbated by chronic illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While significant clinical benefits have been demonstrated in COPD patients with the ....Lung cancer is one of the commonest human cancers and the leading cause of cancer deaths. People with advanced cancer experience significant decline in functional capacity as their disease advances and they approach death. This decline is likely to have significant impact on quality of life. In lung cancer this decline can be exacerbated by chronic illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While significant clinical benefits have been demonstrated in COPD patients with the introduction of pulmonary rehabilitation, little research has been conducted to either map the functional status of lung cancer patients or to explore the application of pulmonary rehabilitation in this setting. This study seeks to begin a program of work in this area through first exploring the characteristics of functional decline in this group and then assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a rehabilitation program specifically addressing the functional status needs identified.Read moreRead less
Cognitive Outcome And Therapeutic Interventions For Coronary Artery Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,104.00
Summary
Dementia is recognized as an increasingly important factor affecting quality of life as people age. Deaths from heart disease are declining, in part due to improved surgical techniques and to the use of less invasive methods to keep arteries open such as coronary stenting. It is now well known that 20 to 60% of patients experience some degree of impairment in thinking ability (cognitive impairment) after cardiac surgery, that this will persist in some of these individuals for years and may incre ....Dementia is recognized as an increasingly important factor affecting quality of life as people age. Deaths from heart disease are declining, in part due to improved surgical techniques and to the use of less invasive methods to keep arteries open such as coronary stenting. It is now well known that 20 to 60% of patients experience some degree of impairment in thinking ability (cognitive impairment) after cardiac surgery, that this will persist in some of these individuals for years and may increase the risk of long-term problems. Cognitive impairment affects people in many ways. While it is not yet known whether the occurrence of cognitive impairment predisposes to dementia, it is thought that Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) may do so. We propose to explore the link between MCI and Post Procedural Cognitive Deficit (PPCD) in patients with coronary disease from before the first point of objective diagnosis, i.e. prior to the coronary angiogram, and over a 12-month period, through and subsequent to further treatment interventions such as stenting or cardiac surgery. Our Pilot data suggest that PPCD does indeed occur after angiography, and we propose to identify how long this lasts, whether MCI predisposes to it and whether it is better to wait until it resolves before further interventions are undertaken. In this way we hope to identify the safest treatment strategy for patients with coronary disease that will minimize the occurrence of Cognitive Deficit and possibly longer-term cognitive changes after investigation and treatment for their symptoms.Read moreRead less