Self-management, a self-oriented, interdisciplinary health promotion strategy, has become the current vogue term all over the world. The concept of self-management is similar to another important term self-care-so similar that they are often used interchangeably. Self-care emphasizes the responsibility of an individual for own health.1,2 Self-management emphasizes an interactive process between patients and their clinicians, often involving therapeutic approaches,1,3 and encompasses the roles of service providers in all sectors of health care.

Self-management trials (ie, CDSMP [the Chronic Disease Self-management Program] developed and evaluated by Stanford Patient Education Research Center since early 1990s4 and the EPP [Expert Patients Program] in the United Kingdom since 20012) have been successfully conducted in the area of chronic disease. However, there has been insufficient study of self-management support programs for cancer patients and cancer survivors.5-7

Cancer survivorship is increasingly being recognized as a chronic condition,8 with cancer patients experiencing symptoms and adverse effects from cancer and its treatments, such as appetite problems, poor nutrition, pain, cancer-related fatigue, and psychological issues that affect their quality of life. Nursing research in these areas is urgently needed. But where do research ideas come from regarding cancer self-management? And how should such programs be designed and carried out? The following points may shed some light on such questions:

1. Self-management program for cancer patients should be designed and conducted on a multiprinciple basis. One principle of self-management is that patients, family members, peers, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, and health care settings all play different but necessary roles in self-management. So it is imperative for researchers to explore the mutual relationships among these roles and how to integrate them into a whole program. Treatment decision making is also a multiparty collaborative process, and researchers need to study the influence of such collaboration among the diverse individuals as this collaboration is a primary facilitating factor for cancer self-management programs.

2. Cancer self-management research is practice centered and evidence based. Important patient needs and issues can arise from this interactive model of care, such as exercise therapy, nutrition self-regulation, relaxation techniques, and confidence rebuilding. However, the core content of cancer self-management programs is teaching participants how to manage and cope with their symptoms and adverse effects.

3. Cancer self-management is always human oriented. A primary responsibility for clinical researchers is to come as close as possible to knowing what cancer patients feel, experience what they experience, and care for what patients care about. Cancer patients are vulnerable physically and mentally, and their feelings can change over time; cancer self-management programs need to view each patient and research participant holistically and give careful, ongoing attention to their inner world. For cancer self-management programs, humanity is a significant goal to reach, and research can help with this reach.

With very best wishes to you,

Changrong Yuan, PhD, RN

Editorial Board Member, Cancer Nursing

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