Psychological status and coping with illness in patients with malignant melanoma

Melanoma patients are subject to different degrees of psychosocial distress. The emotional impact of malignant melanoma can be long lasting and profound, with the most common reactions to melanoma being depression, anxiety and deterioration in quality of life. Coping styles have been shown to have a significant influence on patients' quality of life and their emotional reaction to the illness. The aim of this paper was to investigate the quality of life, emotional status and coping styles in patients with melanoma. 31 patients suffering from malignant melanoma were included in the study. Results of this study show that melanoma has a medium influence on patients' psychological status and quality of life. The most "constructive" coping style--problem focused coping is the mostly used style by the patients, which might be one of the reasons why the illness didn't have a more severe influence on patients' psychological status.