Resilience in Oncology Patients: the role of coping mechanisms

摘要

Introduction. Cases of cancer have increased greatly over the last decades. Over the same period, medical progress in the field of oncology (including developments in surgical interventions, chemotherapy and radiotherapy) has led to an increase in the survival rates of people diagnosed with cancer. In light of this, there is growing interest in the concept of resilience and understanding which factors enable individuals to enjoy a good quality of life in spite of a diagnosis of cancer.Objectives. To identify the coping mechanisms of individuals diagnosed with cancer compared with non-clinical subjects.Method. Nineteen individuals diagnosed with cancer who were receiving chemotherapy were recruited to the study. For comparison, a control group of non-clinical participants were also recruited. Participants were included into the study according to particular inclusion / exclusion criteria. The evaluation was conducted during 2013 and consisted of the analysis of the following parameters: socio-demographic data (gender, age, level of education- demographic questionnaire), clinical data (diagnosis according to the ICD 10, level of functioning as assessed by GAF scale), and coping mechanisms (COPE scale).Results. The group of individuals diagnosed with cancer demonstrated coping mechanisms that were characterised by an emphasis on social support (religiosity, social and emotional support), whereas the control group had coping mechanisms that focused on emotions.Conclusions. There are differences in coping mechanisms between subjects with cancer compared to the non-clinical group. It may be that coping mechanisms can be optimized through psychotherapy interventions to increase resilience of individuals diagnosed with cancer.Keywords, resilience, coping mechanisms, oncological pathology