Online Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management Program for Breast Cancer Patients 

Abstract

Purpose: Breast cancer is a challenging process that affects the diagnosed people and their social environment psychologically, physiologically, socially,and economically. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Online Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) for Cancer program, which is prepared for people diagnosed with cancer to develop coping methods that will enable them to cope with the stress they experience in a healthy and active way. The research question is, whether attending the CBSM program is effective on psychological well- being of breast cancer patients. Material and Method: The study was completed with a total of 35 people, 17 in the experimental group and 18 in the control group. The pretest-posttest results of the experimental and control groups formed according to cancer type and stages were analyzed. The independent sample t-test was used in the comparison of the two groups of experimental and control groups. Paired sample t-test was used to compare the pretest-posttest scores. Results: There was no significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups in terms of mental adjustment to cancer. There was a significant difference observed between the experimental ,and control groups in the post-test measurements in terms of psychosocial adjustment to illness, assessment of coping attitudes, depression, hope, state and trait anxiety (p<.001). Conclusion: It can be stated that the Online CBSM program for breast cancer patients can enable them to cope with the stress they experience in a healthy and active way.