Stress, coping strategies and expectations among breast cancer survivors in China: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Breast cancer is a common tumor in China and has become a public health problem in modern society. Stress plays an important role in the occurrence and progression of cancer. At present, the current situation of stress on breast cancer survivors (BCSs) in China has not been fully understood. This study aims to explore the stress and coping strategies of Chinese BCSs, which provide suggestions to help BCSs reduce stress. Methods Sixty-three BCSs from the Shanghai Cancer Rehabilitation Club in China were included in this study and were divided into eight focus groups. These were transcribed verbatim, coded using thematic analysis and analyzed using NVivo 11. Results Three themes were extracted from the data to address our research objectives: stress, coping strategies and expectations. The stress of BCSs included psychological stress, stress caused by physical pain, economic stress, stress caused by the change of life status, and stress caused by information overload; the coping strategies included self-strategies and help from others; from the perspective of the survivors, they put forward their expectations for both the society and themselves. Conclusions This study shows that BCSs face a variety of stress. In the face of stress, BCSs need comprehensive support, including social and family support to cope with stressors. The findings from this study provide evidence for improving the quality of life among BCSs.

Pre-surgery supportive and goal-oriented strategies are associated with lower post-surgery perceived distress in women diagnosed with breast cancer

“…It follows that avoidant coping strategies and factors may be interpreted as either adaptive or maladaptive on individual basis as they can also contribute to fostering short-term adjustments to surgery. Indeed, combined approach-avoidant coping consisting of both supportive and goal-oriented strategies appears to be more effective in lowering surgery-related distress, consistent with recent studies claiming that breast cancer patients can feel unburdened through self-regulation and help from others [ 58 , 62 ]. However, extensive use of avoidant strategies could also reveal the tendency to focus on external circumstances beyond one’s perceived control, entailing an increased risk for developing mental health issues over time [ 63 ].…”

Coping strategies of stress and its associated factors among breast cancer patients in Tikur Anbesa specialized hospital, Ethiopia: Institution-based cross-sectional study

“…About 68.6% of breast cancer patients who were on chemotherapy had good family support, 65.7% used the problem-focused coping, 30.4% used the emotion-focused coping strategy, 52.0% experienced moderate anxiety, and only 2.0% experienced severe anxiety in the study conducted in southern India [ 8 – 10 ]. Therefore, this study aimed to identify stress coping strategies and their associated factors for breast cancer patients in TASH.…”

Exploring influencing factors in breast cancer survivors’ experience in Lebanon

“…However, family support can represent either help or stress depending on the family’s expectations for BCS’s roles and reactions toward the disease ( Meacham et al, 2016 ; Hubbeling et al, 2018 ). For example, studies have found that BCS expressed feelings of sadness, embarrassment, decreased self-worth, and attractiveness ( Ashing-Giwa et al, 2004 ; Hu et al, 2021 ). Alternatively, felt embarrassed or anxious due to their body shape ( Bloom et al, 2004 ).…”

“…BCS approached and understood life differently after having BC, which was one coping tool. Hu et al (2021) resulted that one of the coping strategies BCS had been the support from their communities or individuals external from the family.…”