Coping with ovarian cancer: do coping styles affect outcomes?

Abstract

The majority of patients with ovarian cancer face a long road of persistent hardship and strain. Treatment of this disease is intense, involving aggressive debulking surgery and multiple chemotherapy regimens. Coping with the disease and its treatment challenges patients on many levels. This review was developed to summarize the evidence concerning the impact of coping strategies on outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer. A comprehensive search of the literature in the field of coping and ovarian cancer was undertaken. Using the Ovid interface, 3 electronic databases, including Medline, Cinahl, and PsycINFO, were searched using the search terms "coping," "cancer," and "ovarian cancer." In addition, a critical appraisal of the 2 most widely used scales to assess coping strategies was a component of this work. This review highlights the relative lack of knowledge on coping in ovarian cancer, the methodologic challenges to its study, and the need to develop an instrument that is tailored to evaluate coping strategies used by patients with ovarian cancer. A validated instrument to assess coping strategies used by patients with ovarian cancer is needed. Identification of strategies that are maladaptive or destructive in patients with ovarian cancer could be used to improve quality of care for patients burdened by this disease.

Target audience: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians.

Learning objectives: After completion of this article, the reader should be able to list the potential coping strategies for patients with ovarian cancer, to explain the various coping assessment scales, and to summarize the evidence concerning the impact of coping strategies on outcomes in ovarian cancer patients.