Anxiety and compliance among women at high risk for breast cancer

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between symptoms o f depression and general anxiety, patient's feelings of vulnerability to ca ncer, the anxiety experienced specifically in relation to various cancer-sc reening procedures, and compliance with these procedures among women at fam ilial risk for breast cancer The data were obtained from 430 patients from the High Risk Clinic at the UCLA Revlon Breast Center who completed the Sta te-Trait Anxiety Inventory and answered questions about their perceived vul nerability to breast cancer, the anxiety they experienced regarding undergo ing pap smear tests, mammograms, and breast self-examinations (BSEs); and t heir compliance with these cancer-screening procedures. Correlations were u sed to estimate the association between feelings of anxiety and compliance. We found that women attending programs targeting those at familial risk fo r breast cancer suffer from significant symptoms of general anxiety. Genera l anxiety was found to be related to anxiety regarding specific screening p ractices but not to women's perceived vulnerability to cancer In general, n either general nor screening-specific anxiety were found to be related to p atients' compliance with screening practices; however significant associati ons were found between patient's feelings of anxiety regarding BSEs and the ir actual performing them. BSE appears to be the only procedure for which c ompliance is negatively associated with procedure-specific anxiety. We offe r possible explanations for this relation and discuss the possible psycholo gical impact that recommendations regarding BSEs may have on highly anxious at-risk women.