Predicting factors of adaptation to illness in recently diagnosed breast cancer patients receiving psychological assistance
Abstract
The aim of this work is to assess whether worries expressed by women with breast cancer recently diagnosed and receiving psychological assistance predict future levels of adaptation to illness.Worries of 53 breast cancer patients were assessed at diagnosis and before starting the oncological treatments. Adaptation to illness was assessed retrospectively by two experienced psychologists reading the patients’ clinical reports once these patients finished their treaments. Scores on each worry were not related with adaptation to illness. However, adaptation at diagnosis was predicted by the worries global score, whereas adaptation to illness during the treatment was related with the intake of psychotropic drugs prior to cancer diagnosis. The intensity of worries at diagnosis, and the intake of psychotropic drugs prior to cancer diagnosis, could allow to identify breast cancer patients who, although receiving psychological assistance, are at risk of developing low levels of adaptation to illness during at diagnosis and during the subsequent oncological treatments.Downloads
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