Emotional support for women with breast cancer: New approaches

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the Overcoming Project (OS) was to work alongside integrative medicine to increase the perception of personal well-being, quality of life, resilience, and happiness in women diagnosed with breast cancer (CM). Focused
on emotional education, it is structured by support groups that promote positive psychology training and coaching sessions. Methodology: Based on prospective methodology focused on expanding emotional awareness for personal growth,
it uses the following initial assessments and outcome measures as scales: Hope—Snyder, collaborators (2007) Satisfaction
with Life (SWLS) — Diener, collaborators (1985) PANAS — Watson, D., Clark, and collaborators (2011) Achievements
— Latham, Gary Flourishing — Diener, E.R. (2010). The work applies 30 concepts of positive psychology distributed in
the acronym: O – Objectives, dreams, human being; V – Values, mission, engagement; E – Energy, positive Emotions; R
– Roadmap, Planning; C – Comunication, relationships; O – Outlier Minds; M – Making decisions, solve problems; E –
Emotional remeaning. The training lasts for 7 months, and 30 tools are worked on in 1h30 online classes, where women
express thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and remeanings, creating bonds of friendship and joint development. The classes
are followed by individual coaching sessions. The classes and written records of coaching sessions are recorded on a proprietary technological platform, which women have access to for 1 year. Results: Overall average results of the 55 women
served: Increase: Hope: 9.45%; Life satisfaction: 8.23%; Achievements: 3.56%; Flourishing: 5.42%; Motivation: 5.45; Positive
emotions: 8.3%. Decrease: Negative emotions: -14.3% Conclusion: The work has immense potential to contribute to the
emotional health and quality of life of women with CM as emotional awareness causes significant transformations for
patients in physical, emotional, social, relationship, and career levels, contributing to healthier and more adherent lifestyle habits to treatment needs, in addition to the ease of scale delivery.