Stress coping among people undergoing surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer

Introduction:
Oncological diseases are currently one of the leading causes of death worldwide, including Poland. The occurrence of a pancreatic tumour is associated with a particularly difficult course and a high mortality rate. It is estimated that the number of deaths is similar to the number of cases. The disease contributes to the psycho-physical burden and exceeds the adaptive capacity of the individual, and the diagnosis of malignant disease, due to the consequences in the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural functioning of the patient, is considered one of the most stressful life events. Treatment of malignant disease is often aggressive in nature. The surgical treatment undertaken is an additional source of perceived stress that the patient must face. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stress coping of people undergoing surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Material and methods:
The study included 69 patients treated in one of Krakow’s hospitals. The study used a diagnostic survey method, interview, scale and documentation analysis techniques, and medical records, the author’s interview questionnaire, and the Mini-COPE Inventory for data collection. Statistical analysis was carried out in the statistical environment of R ver. 3.6.0, the PSPP program and MS Office 2019.

Results:
The respondents mainly presented the group of problem-focused strategies, most often using active coping, planning, acceptance, and seeking emotional support. The mean level of stress experienced by the subjects, measured on a 10-point scale, was 3.65 ±3.38 points.

Conclusions:
Coping strategies used by patients in the course of malignant diseases have important implications for the treatment process of oncological patients. Treatment plans and care provided to oncological patients by members of the interdisciplinary treatment team should take into account the coping strategies shown by post-operative patients, and should implement appropriate interventions aimed at shaping patients’ constructive coping skills.