Estrategias de afrontamiento en mujeres con cáncer de mama del Instituto del Cáncer SOLCA Cuenca-Ecuador, periodo 2021

Abstract

Cancer diseases generate an abrupt change in the patient's life cycle, which affects dimensions that make up health and well-being on a physical, mental and social level. Breast cancer is representative of adversity and a potentially stressful situation for patients, which involves many modifications in their daily lives. In the course of adaptation to the disease, coping strategies are known as cognitive and behavioral skills that patients use in order to achieve homeostasis or reduce the ambivalent feelings produced by the stressful situation. The general objective of this research was to describe the coping strategies that predominate in female patients diagnosed with breast cancer who attend SOLCA Cuenca-Ecuador, period 2021. The study had a quantitative approach, a type of non-experimental, cross-sectional and descriptive in scope. We worked with a population of 79 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 25 and 79 years old. The instruments for evaluation were the coping strategies inventory (CSI), and a sociodemographic and clinical evolution record. The results showed that the most widely used strategies focused on emotion are social support and emotional expression; the most widely used problem-focused coping strategy is problem solving according to sociodemographic and clinical outcome variables. In general, the predominant coping strategies in breast cancer patients are problem solving and cognitive restructuring