Coping Strategies Used by Cancer Patients to Deal with Physical and Psychological Problems of Chemotherapy

This paper aims to find the coping strategies used by cancer patients to deal with physical and psychological problems of chemotherapy. 30 participants above the age of 25, who were undergoing chemotherapy were chosen by purposive sampling method for the study. The instruments administered included socio-demographic and clinical schedule, Becks Depression Inventory-II, Becks Anxiety Inventory, a self-developed tool to assess physical problems and a semi structured interview schedule to assess the physical problems. The mean age of the participants were 55.33 years. Majority of the participants 63.33%(19) were females, 76.7%(23) were married. The most common cancer, which 33.33% of the participants had was breast cancer and 33.33% of the participants suffered from stage II cancer. Only 30% of the participants had prevalence of depression, while 26.67% of the participants had prevalence of anxiety. There was no significant difference in the level of anxiety and depression between the two genders. The most common physical problems faced by the participants were hair loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. The main themes of coping strategies used for physical problems were medication, rest and relaxation and distraction. Distraction, social support and religious coping was used for dealing with depression, while for anxiety social support, religious coping and distraction were used. Good Medical Care backed up by good coping strategies to help patients with their physical problems, depression and anxiety, will ultimately help patients in dealing with this dreaded disease.