Personal characteristics, coping-strategies and quality of life of women with breast cancer

The authors present the results of a pilot study of personal characteristics, behavior strategies and quality of life of women with breast cancer at different stages of the disease. It is assumed that women with breast cancer have psychological characteristics (including in assessing the quality of life) that distinguish them from healthy women who have not been diagnosed. The pilot study involved 45 Russian women: 22 women with breast cancer, 23 healthy women. As a result of the comparative analysis high indicators of self-control in women with breast cancer were revealed. Compared with the group of healthy women, patients with breast cancer have higher values of general internality, internality in the area of failure, higher indicators of vitality. There were no differences between the compared groups of women in the assessment of quality of life, in the subjective perception of physical and mental health.