The role of anxiety and adaptation to illness in the intensity of postchemotherapy nausea in cancer patients.
The aim of this work was to assess whether cancer patients presenting high anxiety levels or poor adaptation to cancer experience higher levels of postchemotherapy nausea, regardless of the emetogenicity of the chemotherapy schedule. Sixty-three patients were interviewed before receiving their chemotherapy schedule and some psychological variables were assessed. Nausea intensity was also assessed after treatment. The results showed that patients with relatively higher levels of nausea reported higher levels of anxiety prior to chemotherapy and lower levels of adaptation to cancer. Thus, evidence for a modulating effect of psychological factors in postchemotherapy emesis is suggested.
Blasco
T
T
Area de Psicologia Bàsica, Apartado 29, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. tomas.blasco@uab.es
Pallarés
C
C
Alonso
C
C
López López
J J
JJ
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents