Related Experiment Videos
Coping with ovarian cancer: do coping styles affect outcomes?
M Laura Hopkins1, Ian McDowell, Tien Le
1Division of Gynecologic Oncology, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada. lahopkins@ottawahospital.on.ca
Unlabelled:
The majority of patients with ovarian cancer face a long road of persistent hardship and strain. Treatment of this disease is intense, involving aggressive debulking surgery and multiple chemotherapy regimens. Coping with the disease and its treatment challenges patients on many levels. This review was developed to summarize the evidence concerning the impact of coping strategies on outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer. A comprehensive search of the literature in the field of coping and ovarian cancer was undertaken. Using the Ovid interface, 3 electronic databases, including Medline, Cinahl, and PsycINFO, were searched using the search terms "coping," "cancer," and "ovarian cancer." In addition, a critical appraisal of the 2 most widely used scales to assess coping strategies was a component of this work. This review highlights the relative lack of knowledge on coping in ovarian cancer, the methodologic challenges to its study, and the need to develop an instrument that is tailored to evaluate coping strategies used by patients with ovarian cancer. A validated instrument to assess coping strategies used by patients with ovarian cancer is needed. Identification of strategies that are maladaptive or destructive in patients with ovarian cancer could be used to improve quality of care for patients burdened by this disease.
Target Audience:
Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians.
Learning Objectives:
After completion of this article, the reader should be able to list the potential coping strategies for patients with ovarian cancer, to explain the various coping assessment scales, and to summarize the evidence concerning the impact of coping strategies on outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.
Related Concept Videos
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Cancer Survival Analysis
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...