Family members are an integral part of a patient's cancer care from the moment the diagnosis is delivered to the conclusion of treatment. Family members bring with them a range of emotional reactions, interpersonal dynamics and expectations for the care the patient receives. This study is part of a multi-institutional project to continue to improve the process of cancer care. In this study, 19 focus groups (11 patient and 8 provider) were conducted concerning issues related to doctor-patient communication in eight cancer centers in the United States. The content of the conversations was analyzed and thematic categories emerged that highlight the various strengths and difficulties associated with family involvement. The focus groups' comments support the need for explicit conversations between professional caregivers, patients and their loved ones, in order to negotiate the expectations and needs of each team member. Implications for clinical practice and strategies for working with family members are offered.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Rat c-myc oncogene is located on chromosome 7 and rearranges in immunocytomas with t(6:7) chromosomal translocation.

Two B-cell-derived tumours, human Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) and murine plasmacytoma (MPC), are regularly associated with a distinctive form of chromosomal translocation (for reviews see refs 1, 2). In BL, the distal portion of chromosome 8 breaks off and is transposed, in most cases, to chromosome 14, known to carry the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus. In about 5% of the cases the same distal part of the chromosome 8 has moved to either chromosome 2 or 22, to the neighbourhood of the kappa or the lambda locus, respectively. In MPC the distal region of chromosome 15 is transposed to the chromosome 12, known to carry the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus, or enters into reciprocal exchange with the kappa locus-carrying chromosome 6 (ref. 7). Several laboratories have located c-myc, the cellular homologue of the MC29 retroviral oncogene v-myc, to human chromosome 8 (refs 8-10) and mouse chromosome 15 (refs 11-13). It has also been shown that the BL- and MPC-associated translocations remove the c-myc gene from its original site and transpose it into or close to one of the immunoglobulin gene clusters. In view of the above findings we also looked for possible involvement of the c-myc gene in a B-cell-derived tumour of a third species, the rat. Rat immunocytomas of spontaneous origin carry a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 6 and 7 (ref. 17). Here we have localized the c-myc locus to chromosome 7 of the rat. Moreover, we have found that the c-myc gene was rearranged in four of five immunocytomas carrying the characteristic chromosomal translocation.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Arc technique for total-body irradiation by a 42-MV betatron.

An arc technique for total-body irradiation (TBI) has been developed using a Siemens 42-MV betatron. Dose is administered with the isocenter approximately one-third the distance from source to patient. A modified inverse-square function for a beam arcing isocentrically was derived and confirmed experimentally. Relationships between stationary and arcing beam equilibrium and depth doses have been established theoretically and experimentally. Depth doses for TBI by 42-MV beams are compared with those for 60Co and 4-MV beams. The simplicity of setup and short treatment times are comparable to setup and treatment times of 60Co and linear accelerator TBI techniques.

Humans↗