Psychological Distress in Cancer Patients

Background: psychological distress is a type of mental stress that people experience due to various causes. this study aims to investigate psychological distress in cancer patients. methods: this cross-sectional study was performed during one year on cancer patients who referred to two academic hospitals affiliated with mashhad university of medical sciences for treatment or follow-up. we used the psychological distress questionnaire for data collection. results were analyzed using spss version 16. p<0.05 was considered significant. results: patients had a mean ±sd age of 54±15.30 years (range: 18 to 89). the most common cancers were colorectal, gastroesophageal, and breast. patients had a mean distress thermometer score of 5±2.99. out of 256 patients, 173 (67.7%) scored 4 or higher. the distress thermometer scores were higher among females, rural residents, patients treated within the previous month, patients with insight of their illness, those with low education levels and low functional status, non-smokers, and divorced patients. a significant relationship existed between patients who had insight of their illness, received treatment in the previous month, and low functional status with the psychological distress score. the most prevalent cause of psychological distress among the participants was fatigue (68.8%), followed by pain (59.4%), difficulty in transportation (59.4%), anxiety (57.2%), sadness (50.4%), anger (44.5%), and depression (43.8%). conclusion: the results of this study have revealed higher rates of severe psychological distress in women, rural residents, patients with low educational and functional status, drug abusers, and divorced patients. therefore, early detection of psychological distress and appropriate interventions among these groups of patients is of cardinal importance. the most prevalent causes of psychological distress among the patients in the current study are fatigue and pain. we recommend that supportive and palliative care be implemented to reduce both the pain and enhance the functional status of cancer patients.