Abstract

Cancer causes premature death if not diagnosed and treated early. One of the most important factors in coping with cancer is the illness perception. Illness perception plays an important role in the resolution or complication of many intertwined problems in cancer. It should be known that individuals with a positive sense of illness are more effective in combating disease. Nurses who care for cancer patients need to understand how they perceive patients' illnesses, if they can change their false beliefs, and to help them acquire a more appropriate lifestyle and habits for their illness. Nursing interventions should be planned and implemented in order to improve the symptoms that the patients perceive, to inform the patient about the disease process and to change the present negative illness perception.