Fear of cancer recurrence and coping strategies among patients with oral cancer: the impact on post-traumatic growth.

Objective: Assess the effect of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and coping strategies on patients with oral cancer's post-traumatic growth (PTG).

Methods: A total of 255 patients with oral cancer participated and were investigated using the Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FOP-Q-SF), and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) in this cross-sectional study. Descriptive, univariate, Pearson correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed.

Results: Higher FCR scores were negatively associated with PTG (r = -0.646). Negative coping strategies were negatively correlated with PTG (r = -0.219). Positive coping strategies positively correlated with PTG (r = 0.482). Regression analysis indicated that the treatment of surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, FCR, and coping strategies had significant independent influences on patients with oral cancer's PTG.

Conclusions: Reducing fear of recurrence and improving one's capacity for proactive coping in the face of traumatic situations are necessary for post-traumatic growth stimulation. Thus, it is important to develop and implement focused therapies aimed at enhancing post-traumatic growth in patients with oral cancer.