Effects of psychological counseling on breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of psychological counseling on breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods A total 80 breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy post operation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University between January 2014 and December 2016 were selected by convenient sampling and divided into the observation group (n=40) and the control group (n=40) according to the random number table. Patients in the control group received conventional nursing care, while patients in the observation group received psychological counseling on this basis. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) , Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Life Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTCQLQ-C30) were used to evaluate the mental and quality life between the two groups. Results The SAS and SDS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group post operation, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . After intervention, the functional dimension and overall health status of the EORTC QLQ-C30 in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, and the symptom dimension score was lower than that in the control group post operation, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01) . Conclusions Psychological counseling provided to breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy post operation can ameliorate anxiety and depression and improve the quality of life in the patients. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Psychotherapy; Quality of life; Anxiety; Depression