Management of anxiety and enhancement of social support in cancer patients

Cancer, a chronic illness that has engulfed the globe, brings about interruptions in all aspects of a person's life that lead to various psychological problems such as anxiety that in turn affects their social support. Poor social support worsens anxiety, which in turn increases the severity of the symptoms of cancer. While the treatment provided in the hospitals focus only on the physical problems, the psychological problems such as anxiety and social support remain untreated. Hence, an effort was taken to assess the anxiety and social support of cancer patients and to help them manage their anxiety and enhance their social support through psychological intervention. From Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, Coimbatore, 80 patients, 37 Male and 43 Female, with cancer, undergoing treatment were selected by purposive sampling. The Case Study Schedule (2011), Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck), MOS Social Support Scale (Sherborne and Stewart, 1991) was administered on the sample. All were given psychological intervention called, Relaxation Therapy (Natesan, 2004) and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Beck, 1921). After the completion of 8 sessions of Therapy, the sample was re-assessed. The research has proved that both therapies are effective in the management of anxiety and enhancement of social support in cancer patients by facilitating a change in attitude towards their health conditions, paving the way for positive treatment outcomes.