ABSTRACT

Purpose:

There is considerable evidence suggesting that patients suffer from psychological distress associated with breast cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate psychological distress during different phases of breast cancer.

Patients and Methods:

Participants were recruited from the patients who were in treatment and in remission phases of breast cancer. In treatment group 40 and in remission group 40 patients were interviewed. All the patients in treatment group had been underwent unilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Sociodemographic variables were recorded. Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories, Brief Symptom Inventory were administered. All patients were assesed with SCID-I.

Results:

There were no statistically significant difference in regard to their demographic features between treatment and remission phase. Duration of the disease was significantly higher in remission phase. Anxiety and depression level were higher in remission group while diagnosis of one of axis I disorder was higher in treatment group. Analysis of covariance was conducted for purfying effect of longer duration of disease. Significance in anxiety scores disappeared.

Conclusion:

Psychological distress were similar in two phase of the disease. Duration of time the patients suffer from cancer was found to be important irrelevant to phase of the disease. These data would have implications to psychological distress of breast cancer patients both in treatment and remission phase.