Author:
LYSNYK KATERYNA,ZELENIN VSEVOLOD
Abstract
During the phase of remission, cancer patients commonly experience the psychological impact of fearing the return of traumatic events, namely the disease, hindering their ability to fully engage in life. The aim of the paper was to study the peculiarities of the psycho-emotional state, namely anxiety and the level of fear of cancer recurrence, in cancer survivors from Ukraine and Israel. The peculiarities of providing medical and psychological care for cancer patients in these countries were considered, and it was found that Israeli society had much more psychosocial support for patients. Additionally, the research examined how beliefs surrounding the myth causes of cancer and the option of alternative unofficial remedies influenced the information landscape of both countries. The paper described the obtained patterns and drew preliminary conclusions about the perception of their own illness by cancer survivors during a full-scale war in Ukraine. The Israeli respondents were in a relatively peaceful phase of the Arab-Israeli conflict at the time of this study. The results obtained in this research, which is preliminary, indicate that there are differences in self-perception of illness and outlook on the future between cancer survivors who have achieved remission in Ukraine and Israel. Research has revealed that Ukrainian survivors experience a greater degree of fear of cancer recurrence compared to cancer survivors from Israel.