Abstract
KEY POINTS • In clinical settings, rumination can be defined as a maladaptive and repetitive thinking process that focuses on symptoms, causes and consequences of one’s illness • A cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the incidence of rumination and its determinants in two samples of 98 breast and lung cancer patients • Results showed that rumination related to cancer was evident in almost half of the participants and was significantly correlated with general rumination • Rumination was also negatively correlated with social support and quality of sleep and positively correlated with the perception of individual responsibility in having cancer • The high prevalence of rumination in cancer patients suggests the need for future longitudinal studies to analyze its long-term effects on illness prognosis, patient quality of life, and psychological wellbeing, as well as the need to develop specific interventions to help reduce its impact on illness management in patients