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Radiation Therapy Research Paper

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CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION

The aim of this study was to assess the distress and coping of patients with selected cancers undergoing radiation therapy. A descriptive design was used in this study .The investigator used the distress thermometer to assess the distress and the Jalowiec coping scale to assess the coping of patients with selected cancers undergoing radiation therapy. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics
Demographic data:- The sample consisted of 85 patients with selected cancers undergoing radiation therapy. The investigator collected the socio demographic and clinical data from patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The descriptive analysis of the socio demographic variables revealed …show more content…

Other predictors od distress for patients undergoing radiation therapy were symptoms related to local tissue and mutilating surgeries. Despite newer treatment strategies the distress remains on a higher side. Frequent problems with nutrition, pain, communication during treatment has been found. Patients are sensitive to different stressors and the physical symptoms related to radiation had an significant impact on their distress levels. Hammerlid et al (2005) has found that short term educational programs before the start of treatment have benefitted the patients to overcome problems with radiation therapy. R.J. Uitterhoeve (2004) identified that the intervention pertaining to relieving distress among patients with cancer undergoing radiation therapy was to help patients acquire strategies to better manage by increasing skills such as reinterpreting pain and other symptoms by diverting attention away from pain or other distressing symptoms through counseling sessions with the health care …show more content…

Severe distress of 66.6% is high among the age group of more than 45. There is also statistical significance between the levels of distress and their site of cancer with a p value of 0.001, there is also significance between duration of illness and their levels of stress with a p value of 0.02.Post hoc between the groups shows a significance between the sites of cancer (p value of 0.01) with their coping levels, there is also significance between the coping levels and the financial source of treatment with a p value of 0.03. Form this study it is evident that age has significance with their distress levels and coping was associated with the financial source of treatment. It is similar to a study done by Thomas.C, Mohan.N, Nair.M, Pandey.M (2011) where distress was high among the age group more than 45.Occupation had an impact on the level of distress along with the staging of cancer. In the present research the staging of the cancer was not taken in to consideration. If it was assessed it would have helped us to associate the predictors of

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