Factors influencing distress in Indian cancer patients

Abstract

The distress score for individual respondents ranged from 34 to 90 (mean 62.3). Patients with lower income, those who were single/widowed, or divorced, those living between 150 and 350 km (3-6 h commuting distance) from the cancer centre, presence of pain and patients with advanced tumours at presentation showed higher distress. A higher distress score correlated significantly with patients being lost to follow-up.

Pilot study of single‐day distress screening with the NCCN distress thermometer to evaluate the feasibility of routine distress screening in tertiary cancer center in rural India

“…Further practical problems like financial-related and transportation-related problems were seen in more than 50% of patients. Such transportrelated distress has been reported previously from other centers in India, which are also located in urban areas [7]. Distress scores were higher in patients on active treatment and those undergoing palliative intent treatment.…”

Determinants of Participation in a Breast Cancer Screening Trial in Trivandrum District, India

“…Being currently not married was also reported as a factor for non-compliance in breast and cervical cancer screening programmes (Dinshaw et al, 2007a;2007b;Nene et al, 2007;Taha et al, 2010;Dahlui et al, 2012), for increased distress among cancer patients (Pandey et al, 2006), and for late stage presentation of breast cancer in a hospital in south India (Ali et al, 2008). That women without a husband are less likely to take part in cancer screening programmes might be due to a lack of social support (emotional, informational, tangible, and companionship support) that can negatively affect breast and cervical cancer screening practices (Gamarra et al, 2009;Silva et al, 2009).…”

“…Results from a study that investigated determinants of non-participation in a cervical cancer screening programme in India highlighted the role of indirect costs as women from economically disadvantaged households could not attend the screening programme even if they wanted to, due to family obligations or to work where absence would mean loss of daily wage earnings (Basu et al, 2006). High indirect costs were also supposed to increase loss to follow-up among patients from lower economic groups, due to increased distress, in a study that was conducted among cancer patients at the Regional Cancer Centre Trivandrum (Pandey et al, 2006). In this study, women who used contraception methods had increased participation both in BSE and CBE.…”

Distress overlaps with anxiety and depression in patients with head and neck cancer

“…Distress extends along a continuum ranging from common normal feelings of vulnerability, sadness and fears to problems that can become disabling such as depression, anxiety, panic, social isolation and spiritual crisis' [5]. However, as suggested by our earlier work, identifying a patient somewhere along the beginning and middle of the continuum, before the clinical stages of anxiety and depression sets in, is an ideal objective [6][7][8][9]. Distress inventory for cancer version 2 (DIC 2) has been developed to screen cancer patients in early middle part of the distress continuum before the anxiety or depression sets in unpublished data), while HADS is a tool to screen for anxiety and depression [10].…”