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Changing health beliefs in cancer patients

Summary/Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, cancer has been reported as the leading provider of live-threatening diseases over the past nearly two decades. Faced with the challenge to preserve their health and lives, patients with cancer are experiencing a significant change with health beliefs and related with them models of health behavior, as well as building new ones. The purpose of this article is to show how and with what kind of motivation the change of health beliefs happens in people with oncological diseases and how much this process influences the course of the diseases. Research is based on qualitative study – a semi-structured depth interview, conducted with ten people with cancer. Among them nine are women and one is a man. Participants in the interview are with different localization of tumor formations and they are in different stage of the disease. Respondents` age is from 38 to 81 years (average age: 60 years old). The data obtained from the content analysis shows that soon after the diagnosis was reported, in parallel with the therapy, patients undergo significant change in health beliefs – a process, motivated by their desire to preserve life and restore their personal health. The data provided in article could be useful for the consultancy practice with cancer patients.

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