The Fear of Empathy among Cancer Patients

Abstract

The research aims to identify the fear of compassion among cancer patients and to examine the statistical differences based on the variables of gender, disease stage, and type of treatment. The researchers utilized Gilbert's 2011 Fear of Compassion Scale on a sample of 385 male and female patients. The findings of the study revealed that the sample suffers from a fear of compassion and that there are no statistically significant differences based on the variables of gender and disease stage. However, significant differences were found on the Fear of Compassion Scale according to the type of treatment, favoring combined treatment.