Psychological distress and breast cancer: Anxiety, depression and worry in postdiagnostic phase,Distress psicologico e cancro al seno: Ansia, depressione e worry in fase post-diagnostica

The communication of breast cancer diagnosis can be considered as a stressful event and may be related to the rise of psychological distress. The overall purpose of the present study was to explore the frequency of anxiety, depression and worry among 50 women with newly-diagnosed breast cancer, during the post-diagnostic phase. Furthermore, the impact of age, marital status and cohabitation on the anxious and depressive symptomatology manifestation were investigated. The results showed that 52% of women have experienced anxious symptomatology and 30% depressive symptomatology; moreover, 66% of patients showed pathological worry. Finally, cohabiting women reported higher levels of anxiety and worry in «Work» and «Relationships» domains, compared to those who live alone. Therefore, these outcomes highlight the importance of a patient global assessment, which includes the investigation of anxious and depressive symptomatology, in order to evaluate the possibility to suggest also a psychological treatment.