RESILIENCE OF CANCER SURVIVORS IN THE CONTEXT OF EXPERIENCING ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Background: Cancer represents a major event in a person's life. Resilience in patients is important for the management of cancer. Cancer survivorship is associated with the experience of anxiety and depression, which adversely affect the quality of life of patients. Methods: In cancer survivors (N = 180), the personality variable of resilience and measures of experiencing anxiety and depression were tested in the context of selected sociodemographic variables using correlational and comparative analyses. Results: Higher levels of depression were associated with lower levels of resilience in cancer survivors. Employed discharged cancer patients possessed higher levels of resilience than patients who were unemployed. Conclusion: The results bring out the importance of resilience enhancement in cancer survivors. They also highlight the rationale for addressing anxiety and depression processing in patients through counseling programs.