[Defense reactions and coping with stress in patients with cancer]

The paper presents the psychological analysis of 56 cancer patients' reactions to stress connected with illness and treatment and their efforts to cope with stress. The main emotional reactions of cancer patients were anxiety, emotional tension and lowering of self-esteem. The defense mechanisms of suppression and denial could also be found. The most frequent effective coping strategy was forming the positive attitude towards the treatment, formulating more distant goals, not connected with illness, confidence in doctors. Much more seldom were the strategies of seeking social support among close relatives.