Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

BACKROUND: The early management for distress, depression, and anxiety in breast cancer patients can help improves quality of life that adherence patients to cancer treatment. AIM: This study aimed to describe the prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression symptomatology of breast cancer patients in the inpatients and outpatient settings. METHODS: This study used a research and development study design. The study was conducted in at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo the Medical Oncology Clinic in Pristina from August to October 2021. The total sample in this study consisted of 50 female breast cancer patients diagnosed at least 6 months before the date of assessment, aged 18 and above, able to communicate in Albanian, signed an informed consent form, negative history of other malignancies, and absence of any temporary acute illness affecting psychological well-being while filling the questionnaire. Questionnaire used in our study is Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for assessing anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients. RESULTS: For anxiety score, some of them were caseness level with 82%, while 26% of study participants were in borderline, 6% in caseness, and some of them were in normal level from 68% on the depression score. The patients feel tense or wound up with 44% Mean/SD (14.67 ± 6.02), about feeling afraid that something terrible will happen and patients may have this feel Mean/SD (13 ± 1.66). Over half of them had the feeling of fear as if something awful is about to happen Mean/SD (11.33 ± 4.03) and that the feeling of fear as if they had “butterflies” in the stomach of 62% had the feeling sometimes, beautiful often, and very often Mean/SD (10.33 ± 4.92). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that it is very important to measure the level of anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer, which are two common mental disorders in breast cancer.