PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION WITH WOMEN IN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1592492219087

• Palavras-chave: Anxiety. Depression. Psychological intervention. Breast cancer.

• Keywords: Anxiety. Depression. Psychological intervention. Breast cancer.

• Abstract:

  Cancer is a disease that originates in the genes of a cell. The disordered proliferation of this cell infiltrates tissues and organs giving rise to the formation of malignant tumors. Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent oncological disease among Brazilian women and is the cancer that kills the most in Brazil and in the world. Currently, sophisticated treatments have allowed the achievement of cure or the prolongation of life with quality. However, the symbolic representation of cancer has not changed and the population continues to associate the diagnosis with suffering, pain and death. Breast cancer has as one of its consequences the presence of psychological symptoms that require evaluation and verification of the need for psychological follow-up during treatment. Among the possible symptoms, anxiety and depression appear significantly in most women during treatment. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of psychological intervention for the treatment of women with BC. The sample consisted of 26 women divided alternately into a control group and an intervention group. The sociodemographic questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used as data collection instruments. After statistical analysis, it was observed that anxiety significantly decreases after the psychological intervention sessions, while in the control group there was no significant difference between the two moments of the interviews. The same occurred for depression, because in the intervention group a significant difference was observed at the 1% level between the means of the proposed scale. It is concluded that the psychological intervention strategy used in this study is beneficial for the relief of psychological symptoms, especially for anxiety and depression, and, consequently, for promoting the well-being and quality of life of women living with the disease.

• Número de páginas: 12