title: [Psychology and cancer: role of rationalization in cancerous disease of unfavorable prognosis (apropos of a clinical case)].
abstract: This text intends to tackle one of the aspects of psychosomatic interactions in cancer: the patient's irrational cognitions related to his trouble. The authors design as cognitive process (CP) the mental work implying the production and the evolution of personal cognitions bound to a personal event. In cancer, CP often drives the subject to adopt irrational points of view concerning his disease, which onset is readily described as a consequence of significant life events; in such explanations, the part of hazard is excluded. The authors suggest that spontaneous CP may be useful helping the patient to avoid strong depressive affects, to alleviate feelings of anger or despair and to improve self-esteem threatened by the illness. The authors consider that using CP concept may be an accurate tool in psychotherapy of patients suffering from cancer. Therapeutic strategies may tend to favour the CP development so that the subject's conceptions stabilize on an ego-syntonic level.
authors.affiliation: Département de Pathologie médicale, C.H.U. de Bobigny.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Skurnik
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011908:Rationalization; D012803:Sick Role; D013997:Time Factors
vernacular_title: Psychologie et cancer: place de la rationalisation dans une maladie cancéreuse de mauvais pronostic (à propos d'un cas clinique).