The factors determining acceptance and adjustment to cancer

Introduction:  In the social reception cancer is perceived as a life threat, and a source of suffering and the fear that accompanies it. There is an entire process of changes that affect the acceptance of the disease, and whose aim is to restore balance and a sense of control over one’s own life. The aim of the thesis was the assessment of the level at which cancer patients accept their disease and the determination of variables influencing the level of one’s adjustment to the disease.

Material and methods: The study included 100 oncologically ill patients aged from 20 to 60 years (the average age: 34.34 ± 9.47 years). The Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS) was applied as well as a questionnaire for the survey compiled by the author.

Results: The general disease acceptance rate in the examined group was on average 25.35 ± 9.25 points, which is interpreted as a moderate level of one’s adjustment to disease. In the case of people aged over 50 years and the ones in the age span from 20 to 30 years the level of disease acceptance was higher than in the case of other patients (p = 0.039). Moreover, the more the respondents described themselves as religious believers, the higher the level of disease acceptance was in their case (r = 0.40, p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant correlation between the general disease acceptance rate and the sex of the examined people, as well as their level of education, family status, the duration of the disease, and the type of applied treatment (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: The examined patients presented a moderate level of disease acceptance. What influenced the level of adjustment to the disease were: age and the level of the patients’ religious belief.