They also mentioned that they were accustomed to attend chemotherapy alone and had grown to accept this. In contrast, the other two patients stated that their family members did not always accompany them to the hospital, and it was not possible to always depend on the family because their family members also had other commitments. These patients were enthusiastic to attend chemotherapy routinely, maintained calmness during the interview, and stated that they did not have sleep disorders. Furthermore, two of them told that their immediate family was helpful in terms of caring about their conditions, supporting the cost and transportation of every chemotherapy session, and encouraging them to keep motivated and attend the chemotherapy sessions routinely to improve their health conditions. Pirngadi General Hospital Medan found that three of five patients were accompanied by their family. Another study by Kim and Morrow (2007) showed that family support affects the anxiety levels, prevention of nausea and vomiting, and their severity in cancer patients after treatment with chemotherapy.Īn interview conducted with five cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in the chemotherapy unit at Dr. A coping strategy is stated to be effective if it leads to good adaptation and a new pattern of life, while an ineffective coping strategy can lead to physical health and psychological health problems (Nasir and Muhith, 2011).Ī study by Muhamad et al., (2011) found that support from all family members, especially the spouse, plays an important role in decision making and survival strategy. Social support, particularly from the closest family member, will affect the effectiveness of coping strategies used by cancer patients, where the presence of support from family members generally reduces the anxiety levels and improves the quality of life in cancer patients (Duci and Tahsini, 2010). This stress leads to coping strategies performed by individuals to prevent further psychological disorders (Karabulutlu et al., 2010). The psychological side effects that may occur are including stress, anxiety, and depression. Preoperative chemotherapy is performed to reduce the size of the tumor that will be removed, while postoperative chemotherapy is performed to eliminate the remainder cancer cells (Prawirohardjo, 2010).Ĭhemotherapy leads to various physiological and psychological side effects. Chemotherapy is usually combined with surgery or radiotherapy. Over half of cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy, which a cancer treatment that uses chemical agents or medications for both localized and metastatic cancer.
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