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The Relationship of Illness Longevity and Relapse With Self-Perception, Cancer Stressors, Anxiety, and Coping Strategies in Children with Cancer

Texas Children's Hospital, 6621 Fannin St Houston, TX 77030, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, School of Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA

Colleen Dilorio, RN, PhD, FAAN

Texas Children's Hospital, 6621 Fannin St Houston, TX 77030, A, School of Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA

Virginia Kemp, RN, PhD

Texas Children's Hospital, 6621 Fannin St Houston, TX 77030, A, School of Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA

A descriptive, correlational design was used to investigate the relationship of the longevity of the cancer experience and the presence of a relapse to the child's self-perception, cancer stressors, anxiety, and use of coping strategies. The 44 children included in this study were 6 to 13 years of age. Fifteen of the children had experienced a relapse of the disease either on or off therapy. The longevity of the cancer treatment and the presence of a relapse were negatively associated with the child's self-perception. Trait anxiety was positively associated with duration of the cancer experience and with the presence of a relapse. Longevity of the cancer experience and the presence of a relapse may be factors that signal the need for interventions designed to enhance the child's self-perception throughout treatment. Because children in this study who reported lower self-perception and higher trait anxiety levels also reported experiencing more cancer stressors, nursing efforts to develop Innovative strategies designed to enhance patients' feelings of self-worth and decrease their anxiety may prove to be important contributions to the care of children receiving treatment for cancer.

Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, Vol. 12, No. 2, 71-79 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/104345429501200206


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