Social Support and Coping Strategies in Patients with Cancer

The present paper focuses on the roles of social support and coping strategies during the course of illness in patients with cancer. The paper explores theoretical perspectives like social support, stress and coping. It dwells into the Social-Cognitive and Social Control perspectives to explaining how they may promote better health. In the process, the importance of social support especially to cancer patients, its benefits, and various types of social support interactions were explained. On the other hand coping strategies were also reviewed to study their importance and future directions are outlined.