Medical and Psychological Intervention for Indian Adult Patients with Cancer: A Randomised Control Study

Abstract

Background: Contemporary cancer care primarily focuses on advanced biomedical treatments, often overlooking the psychological and social challenges associated with the illness (psychosocial factors). This oversight can undermine the efficacy of healthcare and subsequently impact the overall well-being of cancer patients. There is a widespread consensus among medical professionals that psychological factors play a crucial role in the care and treatment of cancer patients. Purpose: The main aim of this study was to examine the effects of treatment as usual (TAU) and a combined intervention (CI) of TAU and psychological intervention (PI) on stress, coping strategies and quality of life among adult cancer patients. Methods: The present study employed a pretest–post-test control group design comprising two groups—Group I (a control group involving TAU only) and Group II (an experimental group involving TAU and PI). In Group I (n1 = 30), the patients with cancer were randomly selected from a pool of 105 cancer patients from three cancer types, lung cancer (LC), breast cancer (BC) and head/neck cancer (HNC), and were administered only TAU (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy and radiation‑hormonal therapy). In Group II (n2 = 30), the participants were administered not only the regular TAU but also the PI involving psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and guided imagery. Three research instruments, namely QSC-R23, Brief Cope Inventory and EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3.0, were used for the present study. Results: The study findings revealed that both TAU and CI resulted in positive outcomes across the measured variables. Notably, there was a decrease in stress levels and an improvement in coping strategies, encompassing problem-focused, emotion-focused and adaptive coping. Furthermore, participants showed a decreased reliance on maladaptive coping strategies and reported an enhanced quality of life, as evidenced by improvements in symptom scales. Conclusion: The study indicated that combining PI with TAU resulted in better outcomes, highlighting the effectiveness of CI (TAU with PI) for cancer patients compared to TAU alone.