Kanser Hastalarının Ağrı ve Kaygı Yönetiminde Sanal Gerçeklik Teknolojisi Kullanımı

Cancer is an important public health problem with a high mortality and morbidity rate. Cancer patients experience various symptoms due to both their illness and the side effects of treatment. These symptoms are generally like pain, anxiety, fatigue, if not treated, they negatively affect the quality of life of the person. These symptoms that reduce the quality of life can also cause serious decisions such as disruption in cancer treatment or discontinuation of treatment, and the incomplete cures results to accelerate the spread of cancer and increase mortality. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods are used in the treatment of cancer pain and anxiety. Since pharmacological methods have possible side effects such as drug tolerance and addiction, it is important to investigate the use of non-pharmacological methods. Virtual reality technology is a noninvasive intervention method that creates a virtual environment by means of the screens attached to the head of the person, disconnecting him/her from the outside world and allowing the person to focus on the image. The purpose of this review is to examine existing studies on pain and anxiety in cancer patients using virtual reality technology and to guide new ones.