[The coping strategies of patients with malignant wound : an analytic study]

Introduction/Background : evolution of the cancerous disease sometimes results in externalization of the tumor to the skin, creating a malignant wound. Limited data describe the coping strategies that individuals will use to deal with this situation. Aim : the main objective is to determine the different strategies of adaptations used by patients with malignant wounds, and links with their clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Secondary objective is to document body image of these individuals. Materials and methods : an analytic study was proposed to 21 patients with a malignant wound, hospitalized in medical oncology. The French versions of the scale of coping Vitaliano and scale of body image (Body Image Scale) were used. Results : patients with malignant wound use three coping strategies : problem, emotional and social support research : the pain at the wound is positively associated with emotional coping and seniority of the cancer diagnosis to seeking social support. Body image seems impaired. Discussion/Conclusion : adjusting to the malignant wound seems possible with the support care provision such as pain relief and/or counseling. A national study is currently trying to generalize these results.