Pretreatment symptom distress in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer

Although the initial phase of illness is recognized as important in the ove rall process of adjustment after a diagnosis of breast cancer, little is kn own about pretreatment patterns of symptom distress, Seventy-four women age s 25 to 79 years and newly diagnosed with breast cancer were studied to det ermine physical, cognitive, and affective distress in the pretreatment peri od. Severity of distress was assessed about II days before primary surgery using the Symptom Distress Scale (SDS), Attentional Function Index (AFI), a nd Profile of Mood States (POMS). Higher levels of distress (SDS) were I el ated to a triad of symptoms, insomnia, fatigue, and loss of concentration. Also, lowered effectiveness in cognitive function (AFI) and significant dis turbances in mood state (POMS) were observed. Overall, a greater number of symptoms was associated with lowered cognitive function (r = -0.47; p < 0.0 1) and greater mood disturbance (r = 0.65, p < 0.01), Younger women younger than 55 years of age (n = 25) reported significantly (p = 0.02) greater ov erall symptom distress (SDS) than older women (n = 49). Interestingly sever ity of distress did not differ in groups anticipating breast-conserving sur gery (n = 35) instead of mastectomy (n = 39). The findings showed a discern ible pattern of symptom distress before any treatment in women newly diagno sed with breast cancer indicating a need for early intervention to promote the initial process of adjustment.