Effective Coping Mechanisms for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Background: Breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, is a diagnosis that often brings negative feelings. Necessary treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and palliative care. Despite advancements, it is in our best interest, as healthcare providers, to fulfill overall wellness including the patient’s quality of life as described by optimistic outlooks on self-esteem, body image, and self-efficacy. This systematic literature review explores the effectiveness of coping strategies for women with metastatic breast cancer. Methods: The review was conducted through the following databases; Academic Search Complete, Gale Academic OneFile, Google Scholar, and follows the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Model. Search terms, “metastatic breast cancer,” “quality of life,” “self-esteem,” and “coping mechanisms,” were used. Exclusions were non-metastatic breast cancer, underdeveloped countries, and articles that were non-scholarly, not peer reviewed, and not within the past 5 years. Results: 24 articles went under review, with preliminary themes including higher self-efficacy and less depressive symptoms associated with positive coping mechanisms. The most prevalent mechanisms we found in our search were physical exercise, proper pain management, social support, and psychological therapy. All of these interventions were threaded throughout the reviewed articles. For most women, the need to live life as they did prior to their diagnosis is their goal: the want for a “normal” life. These interventions encourage “normal” life which allows them to live a higher quality of life with less depressive symptoms. Conclusion:This information can be used throughout nursing practice to help guide, educate, and support women with metastatic breast cancer diagnoses. More research should be done on this topic in order to provide efficient evidence based coping mechanisms to combat a devastating diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer