Psychological status and illness perceptions in patients with melanoma.

A diagnosis of cancer and its treatment can create considerable distress, anxiety and depression for both patients and their families. The emotional impact of melanoma can be long lasting and profound, although the data in this field is inconsistent. Our last study showed that melanoma has a medium influence on patients' psychological status and quality of life. The aim of this paper was to investigate illness perceptions in patients with melanoma and its correlations with quality of life and emotional status. 60 patients suffering from malignant melanoma were included in the study. Results of this study show that patients perceive melanoma as a relatively long lasting illness, relatively easy to control, but hard to cure; and as an illness with not many consequences to their health. The causes of melanoma as perceived by patients are exposure to sun, heredity, immunity and stress. Illness perceptions are correlated with patients'quality of life, the influence illness has on the quality of life and depression.