Application of group counseling in patients with lung cancer receiving argon-helium knife treatment

Abstract

Objective To observe and explore the effects of group counseling in patients with lung cancer who received argon-helium knife treatment. Methods Totally 108 patients with lung cancer who planned to receive argon-helium knife treatment in He'nan Provincial Tumor Hospital between January 2014 and February 2016 were selected and randomly and equally divided into observation group and control group. All the patients were evaluated for their state of anxiety, depression and self-esteem with Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) , Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Esteem Scale (SES) a week before surgery. Then the patients in the observation group received group counseling every two days (each for 2 hours) . The patients were re-evaluated with the three scales a day before surgery. The data at the same time as well as before and after surgery were compared between the patients in the two groups. Results There was no statistically significant difference in anxiety, depression and self-esteem scores between the patients in the two groups (P>0.05) . After the intervention, the anxiety score of the patients in the observation group was (41.15±5.65) , while that of the patients in the control group was (58.99±6.60) ; the depression score of the patients in the observation group was (40.65±4.56) , while that of the patients in the control group was (57.08±5.68) ; the self-esteem score of the patients in the observation group was (30.28±4.11) , while that of the patients in the control group was (17.25±3.15) . The state of anxiety, depression and self-esteem was significantly improved in the patients in the observation group after the intervention (P<0.05) . Conclusions Group counseling applied in patients with lung cancer who received argon-helium knife treatment can effectively reduce their negative emotions, such as anxiety and depression before and after surgery, and help them recover their self-esteem. Key words: Lung neoplasms; Anxiety; Group counseling; Argon-helium knife