Cancer as a high-uncertainty stressor: An essay on dynamic coping models

Abstract

Cancer constitutes a high-uncertainty stressor that impacts multiple dimensions of the patient's life and their environment. This essay aimed to analyze coping models applied to cancer, with emphasis on dynamic approaches that allow understanding oncological patients' coping as a changing, non-linear process contextualized in the different stages of the disease. The classic transactional model by Lazarus and Folkman was reviewed as a starting point, recognizing its contributions and limitations for explaining coping in complex and prolonged situations such as cancer. Subsequently, contemporary dynamic models were examined, including the dyadic coping model, the dual-process model of grief coping, the meaning-making and post-traumatic growth model, and interventions focused on fear of recurrence. The analyzed evidence suggests that these models offer approaches better adjusted to the different phases of the oncological process: from suspicion and diagnosis to treatment, remission, and possible relapse; by considering not only the patient but also their family and social environment, as well as the oscillating and evolving nature of coping. It is concluded that the psychological approach to oncological patients requires individualized interventions according to each stage of the disease, promoting adaptive coping, treatment adherence, and better clinical and emotional outcomes.