It turns out that having a fighting spirit isn’t necessarily the best thing for breast-cancer patients, according to a study published in the latest issue of Behavioral Medicine.
The study was conducted by nine researchers from around the country including several from the UCI College of Medicine. The researchers looked at the behavior of 58 women with stage I or stage II breast cancer. Participants were recruited from Hoag Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center.
The study, which is ongoing, indicated that the women who had a very strong sense of control over their lives,who immersed themselves in fighting the disease,did not do as well in terms of overall well-being. Overall, women who exhibited a combination of acceptance and being assertive about treatment seemed to do better.
“The results were different from what we predicted,” said Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D., professor and chief of the epidemiology department at the College of Medicine. “It’s not totally yielding, but a combination of both.”
Researchers hope the findings will help develop effective ways to counsel women who are diagnosed with the disease. Anton-Culver said the research group is “very optimistic” about the findings.
“Now we’re seeing (breast cancer) more and more, and this shouldn’t mean the end of a professional career,” she said. “We’re encouraging women to pursue their lives and careers, to handle the disease” and not try to control it.
***
CareMore Medical Group, a Downey-based managed-care company with employee physicians, recently signed a deal with Brea Community Hospital to provide service to some 1,500 senior and commercial enrollees.
The hospital discontinued service with Care Medical Group and replaced it with CareMore, which contracts primarily with Brea Community, Downey Regional and Whittier Regional Medical Center.
CareMore has 85,000 enrollees with 18 offices around the Los Angeles and North Orange County area.
Bits and pieces:
Costa Mesa-based Biomedical Market Newsletter Inc. announced the debut of its new e-commerce encrypted transaction system that it promises will process charge card orders within 30 seconds. BMN’s website (www.biomedical-market-news.com) includes current and past issues of Biomedical Market Newsletter, Medical Industry Employment Opportunities and others. The new technology was funded primarily through a special pilot program of Bank of America. Publisher and CEO Dave Anast founded the company in 1991 Beckman Coulter Inc. has renewed and expanded a $70 million, five-year contract with MHA (MedEcon) group purchasing organization of Florham Park, N.J., which represents 700 member hospitals The Orange Unified Teachers Association filed a $75 million lawsuit against the Orange Unified School District, alleging the district has not provided promised free medical care for 700 retired teachers; the district said all benefit changes were negotiated with the union Three lung specialists,Drs. James M. Weiss, Russell C. Klein and William P. Klein,will open a new office on the campus of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley Cardiac Science Inc., Irvine, shipped its first commercial order of the Powerheart, the company’s new hospital bedside-monitor that provides defibrillation without the aid of hospital staff. The shipment, delivered to Medtronic Physio-Control in the United Kingdom, totaled $102,900. Cardiac Science expects to fill the rest of the $1.2 million worth of orders in the second quarter of this year Memorial Health Services, Long Beach, said it will sell La Palma Intercommunity Hospital to Vanguard Health Systems, Nashville, which said it will keep the hospital open Quality Systems Inc., Tustin, announced that it has signed an agreement with Decatur Dental Services of Decatur, Ind., to offer new dental technology to upgrade the company’s Dental Practice Management System. The Clinical Product Suite includes electronic tooth charting and treatment planning and digital X-rays. Decatur has been a QSI customer for more than 15 years CORE Inc. has established a charitable giving program called COREcares, which will donate a minimum of $5,000 to various non-profit groups who help injured or disabled persons lead more productive lives. National Federation of the Blind’s Job Opportunities for the Blind is this year’s recipient.
