Pain Control, Acceptance and Adjustment to the Disease among Patients with Ovarian, Endometrial and Breast Cancer in Poland.

Aleksandra Czerw,Dominika Mękal,Urszula Religioni,Łukasz Strzępek,Katarzyna Sygit,Agnieszka Nieradko-Heluszko,Mateusz Eid,Marcin Mikos,Tomasz Banaś,Olga Partyka

doi:10.3390/ijerph182212148

Abstract

Background: Breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer are among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality of women in Poland. In 2016, breast cancer was the most common cause of morbidity and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, endometrial cancer was the third most common cause of morbidity and the seventh leading cause of death, and ovarian cancer was the fifth most common cause of morbidity and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in women. The aim of the study was to assess the strategy of pain control, acceptance of the cancer and adjustment to life with disease in women with ovarian cancer, endometrial and breast cancer. This study shows how level of pain control, acceptance, and adjustment can differ among patients with the three kinds of cancer and which factors have the most influence on patients’ adjustment to the disease. Methods: The study was carried out with 481 patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer, endometrial and breast cancer. In the study BPCQ, CSQ, AIS and Mini-MAC questionnaires were used. Results: In the BPCQ questionnaire the highest result was acquired in the scope of the impact of doctors (M = 16.45, SD = 4.30), differentiated by cancer location and socio-economic variables. In the CSQ test, the highest result was achieved by praying/hoping, differentiated by cancer location and socio-economic variables. The average AIS acceptance score was M = 27.48 (SD = 7.68). The highest result of the Mini-Mac scale was obtained by patients in the area of fighting spirit (M = 22.94, SD = 3.62), and these results depended on socio-economic and treatment-related variables but were not differentiated by cancer location. Conclusions: Patients attribute the highest importance in the disease to the influence of physicians, praying/hoping, and fighting spirit. The awareness of the pain management strategies of patients with cancer allows appropriate psychological support to be designed for specific groups of patients.

Highlights

IntroductionOvarian and endometrial cancers are among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among women in Poland
Malignant epithelial breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers are among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among women in Poland
In 2016, breast cancer was the most common cause of cancer-related morbidity among women, endometrial cancer was in the third position, and ovarian cancer was the fifth most common cause of cancer-related morbidity (4.6% of cases) [1]

Summary

Introduction

Ovarian and endometrial cancers are among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among women in Poland. In terms of cancer mortality, after lung cancer, breast cancer is the second most common cause of female deaths in Poland (responsible for 14.5% of deaths), ovarian cancer is the fourth (5.9%), and endometrial cancer the seventh (3.6% deaths) [1]. The aim of the study was to assess the strategy of pain control, acceptance of the cancer and adjustment to life with disease in women with ovarian cancer, endometrial and breast cancer. This study shows how level of pain control, acceptance, and adjustment can differ among patients with the three kinds of cancer and which factors have the most influence on patients’ adjustment to the disease. The highest result of the Mini-Mac scale was obtained by patients in the area of fighting spirit (M = 22.94, SD = 3.62), and these results depended on socio-economic and treatment-related variables but were not differentiated by cancer location. The awareness of the pain management strategies of patients with cancer allows appropriate psychological support to be designed for specific groups of patients

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Results

Conclusion