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CANCER DIAGNOSIS, THE CHANGES IT BRINGS TO THE PATIENT'S PSYCHOLOGY
Zamira Imeraj, Denisa Veseli (Bego)
University of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Technical Sciences, Tirana, Albania
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7377294
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to see the psychological changes that occur in patients who have been diagnosed with cancer and the changes that this disease brings in their daily life.
Method: The study was conducted in the Tirana oncology hospital. Fifty patients diagnosed with cancer participated in this study. The instrument for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire that these patients completed.
Results: The results of this study showed us that most patients diagnosed with cancer had undergone many physical, medical and psychological changes, changes that have affected their family and social life.
Conclusion: This study shows us that we have a lot of work to do in this field in the great battle against cancer to come to the aid of these patients to ease the pain and bitter experiences they are experiencing at this stage, suggesting you the help of the psychologist who, in cooperation with the patient's family and relatives, can manage to ease the pain, anxiety, boredom and great fear that they go through after being diagnosed with cancer.
Keywords: cancer, patient, psychological help, etc Introduction
Cancer is a general term used for a group of more than 100 diseases that can affect any part of the body.Cancer is known as the uncontrolled growth of cells that produce a tumor or neoplasm.Cancerous cells lose the tissue specialization that belong to and do not respond to control mechanisms that normally limit cell arrest.Cancer can pass from the primary form of the tumor to its secondary form in a process otherwise known as metastasis.The alarmingly increased number of patients diagnosed with cancer is an indication of how important and widespread this health problem is. according to WHO data, it is one of the main causes of mortality worldwide and the number of deaths from cancer is increasing every day.It's no wonder if you hear the word cancer and a chill runs through you.We all know or have people close to us who suffer from this disease, no one is immune to this disease.Cancer is a disease which, in addition to the physical damage it causes to the human body, leaves deep psychological traces not only on the patient but on the entire social circle and even more so the family, which is often the main moral and financial support of the patient.
Some of the psychological consequences that cancer brings to these patients are:
1. The unexpected.When these people receive the news that they have cancer, they are speechless and do not know what to feel when they receive the news.2.Loss of control and denial of the disease after hearing the news and the diagnosis has been estab-
lished. 3. Social isolation and significant reduction of relationships due to loss of self-confidence or body feelings constitutes a challenge and alarm for psychological support.The high levels of depression and anxiety that this pathology brings make it necessary to recognize the role of psychological and emotional problems in cancer patients and their families. Psychological care for cancer patients is often neglected. Attention to psychological concerns/problems is also as important as quick and accurate diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, this research aims to examine the impact of cancer diagnosis and the psychological status of patients in this disease.
Material and method
This study was conducted in the oncology hospital in Tirana, Albania.60 patients diagnosed with cancer took part in this study.For this a self-administered questionnaire was used by these patients.In this questionnaire, there were questions to obtain data about how they have been waiting for the news after being diagnosed with cancer and the psychological, emotional and social experiences that the patient and his family have experienced during and after the treatment.
Results
For this study, a total of 60 patients diagnosed with various cancers admitted to the oncology hospital and daily patients who received daily treatments such as chemotherapy,radiotherapy,etc, completed and answered the questionnaire.In the following results, we will present what we found during this study.
Table 1.
Place of residence of the patients participating in the study.
Settlement No. of patients The percentage
City 35 58 %
Countryside 25 42 %
Settlement
Figure 1. Place of residence of the patients participating in the study.
Figure 1 .It shows the place of residence of the interviewed patients,since the place where they live affects the way they experience this disease psychologically.The largest percentage is in the city with 58% and the rest lives in the countryside, 42% of these patients.
Table 2
We have the distribution of patients who completed the questionnaire according to gender.In this table, we have _presented the number of patients by gender._
Females 40 67 %
Male 20 33%
Total 60 100%
Gender 45
¡40|
¡20|
FEMALES MALE
Figure 2. Distribution of cancer patients by gender
Figure 2. Shows the gender of cancer patients who fill out the questionnaire,where the largest number is female with 40 patients with 67 percent and 20 patients were male with a smaller percentage of 33%.
Table 3.
Patients divided according to the type of cancer.
Breast cancer 28 patients 47 %
Cancer of the uterus 13 patients 22 %
Stomach cancer 8 patients 13%
Other cancers 11 patients 18 %
Types of cancer
I Breast cancers I Cancer of the uterus I Stomach cancer I Others cancer
Figure 3. Distribution by type of cancer.
As can be seen from the figure above, the largest number of interviewed patients is breast cancer patients with 47%, which has increased significantly recently in our country and in the world, followed by uterine cancer with 22%, cancer of the stomach with a percentage of 13% and other cancers with 18%.
Table 4.
Reactions of patients when they received the news that they had cancer.
Rejection of the disease 20 patients 34 %
Fear of death 32 patients 53 %
God's will 8 patients 13 %
Reaction
40 20
0
REJECTION OF THE FEAR OF DISEASE DEATH
GOD"S WILL
Figure 4. Reactions of patients when they received the news that they had cancer.
Figure 4.Shows that most of these patients, 32 of them were afraid of death and what would happen to them, 20 patients do not accept the disease they have and a small part with 13 percent expressed that it was God's will that this
Table 5.
Shows whether these patients have experienced psychological distress
No. of patients 60 The percentage
Answered yes 52 87 %
Answered no 8 13 %
60
0 -
ANSWERS YES ANSWERED NO
Figure. 5 It shows whether these patients have experienced psychological distress
Figure 5.Shows the high number of patients who have experienced psychological and emotional changes with a high percentage of 87% or most of the patients admitted that they have experienced anxiety, stress and changes in their lives, 8 of the patients answered no.
Table 6.
It shows whether, after the diagnosis was made, the patients experienced the fear of loneliness and isolation.
No. of patients 60 The percentage
Answered yes 40 67 %
Answered no 20 33 %
Figure 6. . It shows whether, after the diagnosis was made, the patients experienced the fear of loneliness and
isolation.
Figure 6.Most of these patients after being diagnosed with cancer have experienced many changes, one of the things that the patients describe is the feeling of loneliness and loss of family, friends and relatives where 67% of them answered that they have experienced these fears and 20 patients answered no and argued that the presence of the family was great.
Table 7.
Presents the concern that these patients have for the future.
No. of patients 60 The percentage
Worried 38 64 %
Unconcerned 17 28 %
No answer 5 8%
Presents the concern that these patients have for the future.
Figure 7.
NO ANSWER
UNCONCERNED
WORRIED
\
10
\
15
I
20
I
25
I
30
I
35
40
Figure 7. The largest number of patients showed a great concern about what will be done with them in the future, how will the progress of their disease be with a percentage of 64%, 17 patients showed that they were not afraid of anything and that they had faith in God and everything would be fine. 5 of these patients did not give any answer to this question.
Table 8.
Shows whether these patients sought psychological help.
No. of patients 60 The percentage
They searched the family 28 47 %
They asked the doctor 24 40%
They asked a psychologist 8 13 %
Figure 8. Shows whether these patients sought psychological help.
Most of these patients diagnosed with cancer, 28 of them had sought psychological help from their family and people, 24 patients or 40% of them sought help from the doctor who followed them, and only a small part of these patients, 8 people had gone to to the psychologist to get the necessary help in these cases to
achieve the best possible treatment of the psychological side in addition to the physical one. Conclusions
The results found and derived from the answers of this study show us that cancer brings a large number of
changes in their lives. The largest number of interviewees were women who had the most serious psychological side for many reasons that this brought about. illness from the change in the body image and to the way of life. The big fears that these patients had about leaving and the inability to provide the right help for their children and families. Most of these patients were afraid of death and that they could not achieve what they wanted from life. Some of these patients accepted the disease as God's will and you will take this part of life as it comes to you. The largest number of them admitted that they have worsened their psychological condition and very few of these patients have sought help in the psychological aspect in the right place at the psychologist, most of them have sought this help from their families and from the doctor who followed them in their treatment.
Recommendation
From this study we extract important data and in-formation.This study highlights the importance of optimism and social support of cancer patients Knowing that cancer itself causes great anxiety and changes in patients who are diagnosed with cancer, not only medically but also psychologically.Many changes in their daily life,changes in the family on the economic and social side,these patients need a lot of help to bring improvements in their psychological side.A big role should be played by the medical team, in addition to therapy and medical help,I should recommend them to health professionals mental to seek the help you need in these cases.
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