A 35-year-old woman comes to the local health center with a large mass is her right breast. She has felt the lump for about a year but was afraid to come to the clinic because she was sure it was cancer. The most appropriate nursing diagnosis would be:

Question

A) Self-esteem disturbance
B) Ineffective individual coping
C) Altered family process
D) Ineffective denial

Answer 1

Ans: B
Feedback: Ineffective individual coping is the inability to assess our own stressors and then
make choices to access appropriate resources. In this case the patient was unable to access health care even when she was aware the disorder could be life threatening.
Option A, self-esteem disturbance, Option C, altered family process, and Option D, ineffective denial, are all nursing diagnoses that are often associated with breast cancer. But the patient's ineffective individual coping has created a significant safety risk and is therefore the most appropriate nursing diagnosis.