Combined Couple Therapy Based on Acceptance and Commitment and Schema Therapy for Quality of Life and Recovery Process of Patients With Breast Cancer During Medical Treatment

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer can affect the process of recovery and the quality of life (QoL) of individuals. This study determined the effectiveness of combined couple therapy based on acceptance and commitment and schema therapy on the QoL and recovery process of patients with breast cancer (BC) during medical treatment. Methods: The research method is semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, follow-up, and control group. The study’s statistical population included all married patients with BC (stage one) who received treatment in Mashhad in 2019. A total of 30 samples were selected through the convenience sampling method and then randomly assigned to the control and treatment groups. The exceptional EORTC QoL questionnaire (QLQ-C30) was used in patients with cancer to collect data, and the recovery symptoms were checked according to medical records and the relevant specialist’s opinion. The data were also analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance to analyze the obtained data. Results: The findings demonstrated that the combined couple therapy based on Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) had a significant effect on the QoL and recovery process of patients with cancer during medical treatment (P>0.01). Conclusion: The results imply that couple schema therapy-based ACT could positively affect the QoL and treatment processes among cancer patients.