Anxiety and stress in women with suspected endometrial cancer: Survey and paired observational study

Abstract

Objective To determine the anxiety and stress levels of women with suspected endometrial cancer and factors affecting this. Methods Prospective survey and paired observational study of consecutive women with suspected endometrial cancer in a rapid access gynaecology clinic. Structured questionnaire including a GAD‐7 anxiety test and a modified stress thermometer were used. Patients ranked their perception of a cancer diagnosis on 0‐5 Likert scale (0 = confident not cancer and 5 = cancer). Patients requiring an endometrial tissue biopsy were asked to rank their pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS), this was paired with the survey results. Results 250 patients completed the study and 23 of which underwent an endometrial tissue biopsy. The median age was 50‐59 years old and 59% of women spoke English as their first language. 32% of patients had significant levels of anxiety with GAD‐7 score ≥10. The median stress score was three out of five on Likert scale. GAD‐7 anxiety scores were higher in women who perceived that they received insufficient information prior to clinic (sufficient information 5 vs. insufficient information 9.5, P = 0.00036) or had a disability (disability 9 vs. no disability 5.5, P = 0.00374). The median VAS score from the biopsies was seven out of 10 (range 1‐10). Patients with higher anxiety levels (GAD‐7 scores) were more likely to believe they had cancer P <0.00001. Conclusions These findings confirm high levels of anxiety and stress in women with suspected endometrial cancer. Adequate pre‐clinic information is essential, particularly for minority groups.

Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer Using the Surgical Intelligent Knife (iKnife)—A Prospective Pilot Study of Diagnostic Accuracy

“…Histological diagnosis can take up to two weeks. It has been demonstrated that delays in diagnosis are associated with high levels of anxiety and stress for patients [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The mainstay of treatment for endometrial cancer is hysterectomy, with large international observational studies showing that delays to definitive surgery can negatively impact survival [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Interaction of Anxiety and Hypertension on Quality of Life among Gynecological Cancer Patients: A cross-sectional study

“…In many kinds of cancer patients, the anxiety level of female patients is signi cantly higher than that of male patients, and gynecological cancer patients are one of the highest anxiety groups [9,10]. Studies have shown that the incidence of anxiety in gynecologic cancer patients is 23.7-42% [11][12][13].…”

Exploring the Potential Link between PFAS Exposure and Endometrial Cancer: A Review of Environmental and Sociodemographic Factors

“…In a study carried out in 2007 by Nielsen and colleagues, a weak correlation between stress and EC was found in the severely stressed group; in fact, a lower risk of EC was observed among stressed women [ 264 ]. Due to the small, sampled population ( n = 72), several research studies have focused on a much larger and diverse sampling method [ 265 , 266 ], and a study of 250 patients and multiple races/ethnicities found out that stress played a key role in the development of EC [ 265 ].…”