Mental adaptation to cancer in women with gynaecological cancer

Introduction and objective. Adapting to gynaecological cancer is the problem of accepting and coping with the disease and its consequences. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between stress intensity and strategies for coping with stress and psychological adaptation to disease in women diagnosed with gynaecological cancer. Materials and method. The study was performed on a group of 102 women diagnosed with gynaecologic malignancy. The mean age of patients was 56.1 (SD ±10.75) years. Three self- designed questionnaires were used to carry out the study: Scale of Perceived Stress (PSS-10), Multidimensional Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (Mini-COPE) and the Scale of Mental Adaptation to Cancer (Mini-MAC). Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. Results. In more than half of the women surveyed, the severity of stress experienced during the last month was high. Women with a malignant illness significantly differed (p<0.001) in the styles of coping with the disease, preferring a constructive style (M=43.5; SD±5.76) rather than a destructive style (M=21.7; SD±5.28). The highest median values were obtained by positive revalidation (M=21.9; SD±3.01) and fighting spirit (M=21.6; SD±3.47) strategies. The most prominent indicator of predicting a constructive style of coping with cancer was the coping strategy described as Positive Revalidation (ßeta=0.38; R²=0.41); whereas an Acceptance strategy was a predictor of a destructive style (ßeta=-0.30; R²=0.31). Conclusions. Most women facing gynaecological cancer experience a high level of stress, and try to use active strategies to deal with the disease. The results indicate that there is a need to offer special psychological care to oncologically diagnosed women.