방사선치료 중인 암환자들과 비암환자들 간의 정신병리의 비교

A Comparison o f Psychopathology between Cancer Patients on Radiotherapy and Noncancer Patients

Psychiatric aspects of 84 cancer patients on radiotherapy were investigated, using SCL-90 R and other questionnaires. The results were as follow; 1) 67% of the cancer patients accepted diagnosis of their illness, whereas 33% denied it. 2) Anxiety was the most predominant emotional response when radiotherapy was recommended. 3) 73% of the patients showed positive attitude toward effect of the radiotherapy, whereas 26% showed uncertain attitude. 4) After the first radiotherapy, the cancer patients tended to show lower scores of hostility than noncancer patients, but there were no significant differences between both the groups regarding other psychopathologies. 5) After the first radiotherapy, the patients who denied their illness showed higher scores of hostility and tended to show higher scores of psychoticism than those who accepted it. After the last radiotherapy, however, there were no significant differences in psychopathology between the both groups. These results suggest that in early stagte of radiotherapy, the patients’ denial was related to their psychopathology, and that over time, they were more adaptable to radiotherapy. 6) The cancer patients who were uncertain about effects of radiotherapy were significantly more anxious and hostile than those who were positive toward them. In conclusinn, a considerable number of cancer patients denied their illness, although they were being treath with radiotherapy under the confirmed diagnosis of cancer. Hostility was noted to be predominant trait in such patients.