Aims: Some studies suggest that patients undergoing radiotherapy present cancer fatigue (CF), and that an ICBSM cognitive-behavioural intervention on stress management (with muscle relaxation, cognitive restructuring, and coping strategies’ training) is effective in its reduction. However, not all research supports these data and, given the lack of agreement in this area, this study approaches CF and the impact of ICBSM on 26 biopsychosocial factors, divided in: emotional patterns; quality of life; resilience; and perception and satisfaction with social support.
Methods: A longitudinal, comparative and correlational study was developed using two samples (35 patients in the control group – only with conventional treatment by radiotherapy; 35 patients in the experimental group – with radiotherapy and ICBSM) that were evaluated before and after the treatments. Significant differences between before and after the treatments, in each group, were considered for p ˂. 005, and particular attention was given to the most significant correlations before and after radiotherapy treatments, with or without ICBSM.
Results: The results suggest ICBSM is effective on the biopsychosocial explores, and highlight the differences between the two evaluation moments in both samples, relating with different factors.
Conclusions: This study enabled a greater understanding of the nature and degree of the relation between different components of CF, as well as the biopsychosocial dynamics that characterize CF and the evolution from before to after radiotherapy, with or without cognitive-behavioural intervention in stress management. Furthermore, it contributed to the cognitive-behavioural intervention on CF cases.