The Illness Perception and its Association with Distress in Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy

Abstract

OBJECTIVELong treatment periods, repeated hospitalizations and side effects of chemotherapy besides the knowledge of having cancer may all affect the psyche of these patients. In this study, we investigated the effectsof illness perception on anxiety and depression in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment.METHODSA total of 182 patients were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale,Visual Analoge Scale and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire were used to assess the anxiety anddepression, pain and illness perception, respectively.RESULTSThere were 103 (56.59%) female and 79 (43.41%) male patients in this study. The present sample hadpossible clinical levels of anxiety and depression of 25.3% and 26.4%, respectively, and probable clinical levels of anxiety and depression of 25.8% for both. Positive illness perception parameters, such aspersonal control and treatment control, were both not correlated with anxiety scores (p=0.120, p=0.070,respectively). According to the evaluation of depression scores, personel control was negatively correlated (p