Thai cancer journal

Use of Religious Coping in Patients with Cancer

2024-06-13T13:58:21+07:00

In this article, we reviewed the relationship between religion and health and the use of religious coping in cancer patients to draw attention to the importance of religion and religious coping. There are five dimensions of health: physical, mental, social, spiritual, and religious. The relationships between these five dimensions of health is very close, often intertwined, profound and symbiotic. Religious coping is a means of seeking Allah’s help, trusting and taking refuge in Allah, finding solace in religious provisions/teachings, and praying/worshiping more than usual during stressful events of life such as illness, calamity, death, or circumstances where a person is helpless. Religious coping has been frequently used by cancer patients and parents of children with cancer in many cultures around the world for physical, mental, social, and/or spiritual health. Patients’ religious beliefs are an unrecognized source of support; however, health professionals do not take into account the religious beliefs, expectations and needs of patients with cancer when dealing with the medical care and treatment of patients. We strongly believe that health professionals should recognize and accommodate and respect to patients’ religious and spiritual needs. Lastly, we recommend that comprehensive studies should be performed on the religious coping styles of Thai parents of children with cancer, because no study has been reported about this subject in the literature. These studies will fill the gap in the literature and make a great contribution to the clinical practices. (Thai Cancer J 2024;44:1-10)

Nurse’s Role in Bowel Preparation of Colorectal Cancer Patient Undergoing Colonoscopy

2024-06-13T15:49:32+07:00

Colorectal cancer can be screened and early detected. Early screening is beneficial for treating colorectal cancer, leading to effective treatment as for other cancers. A colonoscopy is the worldwide standard method for assessing colonic pathologies and other screening tests. The efficacy and ability to detect colonic abnormalities depend primarily on the effective colonoscopy preparation and the cleanliness of the bowel. Therefore, The Nurse has an important role to provide care forhigh-risk group and colorectal cancer patients prepare thepatients for receiving the procedure to achieve the maximum accuracy and efficiency of the results. (Thai Cancer J 2024;44:11-20)

Aspartame and the risk of cancer

2024-06-13T14:07:25+07:00

Aspartame is a non-calorie or low-calorie sweetener that is 150–200 times sweeter than sucrose. It can be decomposed aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol are commonly used as sweeteners in non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, ready-to-drink coffee, and cocoa mix is often used in the diet of people with health problems such as diabetes, obesity, or dietary weight control. It controls energy intake and does not affect blood sugar levels. But it should not be used in amounts exceeding the amount of substances that can be consumed without causing harm, as determined by The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the requirements of the Ministry of Public Health Announcement No. 389 B.E. 2018 regarding food additives (No. 5). In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) will classify aspartame as a substance that may cause humans cancer group 2B (IARC group 2B) based on information aspartame and risk of carcinogenicity, consumption has been found to increase weight and fat mass. Sweetener intake was associated with the risk of developing many types of cancer, such as leukemia lymphatic cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and obesity-related cancers in human. The results of this study found that aspartame increased the incidence of leukemia and lymphoma in rodents. It also changes the mRNA levels of cancer-causing genes, resulting in a higher risk of breast and prostate cancer. However, this information is a preliminary study. More studies should be conducted until clear information is obtained, including further studies on the population. (Thai Cancer J 2024;44:21-30)