Author(s): Shahrzad Jahangiri , Mohammadreza Mortazavizadeh, Masoure Nasirian
Introduction: Cancer is now the most important health concern endangering the patients’ physical, mental and social health. Cancer has several types among which prostate and breast cancers are the most common tumors in men and wom-en respectively, and the lung and colon are more prevalent in both genders, but leukemia is more common in children. The present research aimed to determine the effectiveness of reality therapy in improving the psychological well-being in people with leukemia. Materials and Methods: The present study utilized a quasi-experimental approach. This study examines cognitive and behavioral changes in subjects by pre-test- post-test due to the precise control of experimen-tal conditions by controlling the independent variable through questionnaires. The statistical population consisted of all people with leukemia in hospitals and private offices of blood and oncology in Yazd during 2013-2014. Convenience sampling was done on those referring to an oncology office for the cancer treat-ment. Leukemia patients, who knew about their illness, were selected as samples and involved in reality therapy sessions considering inclusion and exclusion cri-teria: The sample size included 30 leukemia people who were randomly divided into two groups (experimental and control). The treatment research plan was in-dividually conducted for 6 weekly 1-hour sessions; and Ryff’s questionnaire was recompleted at the end of the sixth session. Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene’s test, one-way analysis of covariance, and multivariate analysis of covariance were used to analyze research data. Results: During the reality therapy sessions, participants’ self-knowledge was increased (self-acceptance was also increased in participants, so it was consistent with current studies) as members discuss and contemplate themselves and share their perceptions. Conclusion: This self-knowledge is the basis for making more constructive decisions, more functional programs, chang-ing their feelings and thoughts, improving life for remaining years, and more purposeful life