The Effectiveness of Semantic Therapy on Death Anxiety, Pain Catastrophizing, Chronic Pain Acceptance, and Pain Intensity in Patients with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most emotionally and psychologically affecting cancer among women, causing the patient to experience profound emotional and psychological difficulties. The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of semantic therapy on death anxiety, pain catastrophizing, chronic pain acceptance, and pain intensity in patients with breast cancer. Methods: The current study was a quasi-experimental research with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up and a control group. All patients with breast cancer referred to King Fahad General Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2019, comprised this study's statistical population of 218 individuals. Simple random sampling was used to select the statistical sample. Thus, 60 individuals were selected and divided into two groups. The experimental group was administered the intervention via semantic therapy. Two months after the post-test, the groups underwent a follow-up examination. The repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SPSS software. Results: Semantic therapy positively affected dependent variables, including death anxiety (F = 52.067, P < 0.001), pain catastrophizing (F = 124.569, P < 0.001), chronic pain acceptance (F = 46.034, P < 0.001), and pain intensity (F = 156.413, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Semantic therapy decreases death anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and pain intensity, while increasing chronic pain acceptance.

Keywords

• semantics
• breast cancer
• anxiety
• pain catastrophizing