Effect of virtual therapy on rehabilitation of women diagnosed with breast cancer

quality of life (assessed by European Organisation for. Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for cancer patients (EORTC QLQ-C30);; quality of sleep assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI);; depression assessed by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

Cancer diseases appear today as a particularly important issue due to health, psychological and social consequences. In Poland, as in other European countries, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. The peak incidence falls on the age of 65-69, however, the number of cases diagnosed in younger women is increasing. The greatest increase in incidence is observed after the age of 40. This means that breast cancer more and more often affects women who are fully active in professional, family and social life. Cancer is one of the most traumatic experiences in human life. There are unknown emotions associated with the diagnosis of cancer, its treatment and fear related to the prognosis. This usually has a negative impact on psychophysical well-being. The use of virtual reality (VR) in medicine is gaining more and more supporters. Both immersive and non-immersive virtual reality find their application, e.g. in surgery, rehabilitation, neurology and play a special role in educating future doctors. VR allows you to simulate surgical procedures and supports the course of complex operations, it is used in rehabilitation to improve cognitive and motor functions, it is also a popular tool in psychology because it can be used as a relaxation therapy. The main difference between immersive and non-immersive VR is the amount of stimuli provided to the user. Immersion technology allows you to affect almost all senses and completely isolate the patient from the real world. Virtual reality seems to be a new and effective tool that distracts the patient from medical procedures, which can also contribute to improving the quality of life and reducing the undesirable effects of oncological treatment, translating into the promotion of an active lifestyle in this area among oncological patients. The characteristics of cancer and VR therapy seem to be matched in terms of expectations and possibilities. By analyzing current scientific reports, virtual reality systems may be the optimal tool in reducing the negative effects of cancer, and research goals result directly from the available knowledge.