A 40-year-old woman was recently diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer and had a right side mastectomy this morning and is grieving the loss of her femininity. She has a 13-year-old daughter who becomes over involved in her school activities and wants to get all A's on her next report card, a 12-year-old son who refuses to talk about his mother's condition and a husband who starts attending daily religious offerings.

Create a discussion post using the information in the scenario and the information that was read in the assignments, apply it to the scenario, and identify:

• Name and explain which defense mechanism each of the four (4) family members using to deal with the stress the family is facing?

• Include information about the family members' stages of growth and development when formulating your responses: How does the RN determine if the defense mechanisms are helpful or harmful.