Assessment of the emotional condition of women with cancer

E. Mess, A. Ziembowska, J. Staś, W. Misiąg, M. Chabowski

Department of Clinical Nursing, Division of Oncology and Palliative Care, Faculty of Health Science, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland. mariusz.chabowski@gmail.com

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• Oncology

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of malignant tumors in women is constantly rising. In 2018, 83 876 women were diagnosed with cancer, and 46 028 died from it. Since the 1980s, the incidence of malignant tumors in women aged 19-44 has been growing dynamically, and in middle-aged women (between 45 and 64 years old), nearly one in two deaths are due to cancer — exceeding mortality from cardiovascular disease. Upon diagnosis, the patient who may have been healthy so far faces emotions such as fear, anxiety, and sadness, caused by the awareness of having a progressive disease. Therefore, a somatic disease may trigger the development of a psychological disorder. The purpose of the present paper was to assess the emotional condition of women with cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our survey included 100 patients hospitalized at the radiotherapy, gynecologic oncology, and breast units of the Lower Silesian Cancer Center in Wrocław, Poland, between August and November, 2017. We used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-M), and the C-HOBIC readiness for discharge questionnaire.

RESULTS: The mean patient age was 58.91 years (SD=13.74), the youngest patient was 23 years old and the oldest was 86 years old. More severe anxiety and depression symptoms were negatively associated with readiness for discharge. Among the women studied, widows and divorcees had higher levels of depression. Women who had completed primary education were more likely to suffer from anxiety than those with high school education. Duration of illness did not significantly affect the emotional condition of women undergoing cancer treatment. In the group of female cancer patients studied, more than half had no depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Emotional disorders negatively affect patients’ readiness for discharge. Anxiety is significantly associated with education level, and depression – with the patients’ marital status.

 

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