PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN LITHUANIAN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER

Background and objective: About one-third of breast cancer patients experience significant emotional distress. There is a need to establish the severity of psychological distress and to determine associated factors to prioritize targets for psychological interventions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate distress in Lithuanian women with early stage of breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy and to determine factors associated with distress. Material and methods: We assessed 134 early breast cancer patients undergoing outpatient radiotherapy at the Institute of Oncology, Vilnius University between June 2009 and March 2010. The distress level was assessed using the Distress Thermometer (DT) altogether with the problems checklist. Participants also completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: The average DT score was 2.67 +/- 0.212. Twenty percent of patients indicated distress levels of 5 or more. Sixty percent of women of age 70 and over and eighty percent of married women reported severe distress (DT score = 8). Distress scores moderately correlated with the HADS depression scores. From the list if problems only family, emotional and physical problems were significantly associated with distress. Conclusions: Twenty percent of breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy experienced significant distress. Women of older age and married showed a greater vulnerability. The distress was related with family, emotional and physical problems.