Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Jun 14;90(12):2297-304.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6601887.

High levels of untreated distress and fatigue in cancer patients

L E Carlson  1 , M Angen, J Cullum, E Goodey, J Koopmans, L Lamont, J H MacRae, M Martin, G Pelletier, J Robinson, J S A Simpson, M Speca, L Tillotson, B D Bultz
Affiliations

High levels of untreated distress and fatigue in cancer patients

L E Carlson et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess a large representative sample of cancer patients on distress levels, common psychosocial problems, and awareness and use of psychosocial support services. A total of 3095 patients were assessed over a 4-week period with the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), a common problems checklist, and on awareness and use of psychosocial resources. Full data was available on 2776 patients. On average, patients were 60 years old, Caucasian (78.3%), and middle class. Approximately, half were attending for follow-up care. Types of cancer varied, with the largest groups being breast (23.5%), prostate (16.9%), colorectal (7.5%), and lung (5.8%) cancer patients. Overall, 37.8% of all patients met criteria for general distress in the clinical range. A higher proportion of men met case criteria for somatisation, and more women for depression. There were no gender differences in anxiety or overall distress severity. Minority patients were more likely to be distressed, as were those with lower income, cancers other than prostate, and those currently on active treatment. Lung, pancreatic, head and neck, Hodgkin's disease, and brain cancer patients were the most distressed. Almost half of all patients who met distress criteria had not sought professional psychosocial support nor did they intend to in the future. In conclusion, distress is very common in cancer patients across diagnoses and across the disease trajectory. Many patients who report high levels of distress are not taking advantage of available supportive resources. Barriers to such use, and factors predicting distress and use of psychosocial care, require further exploration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Psychosocial Questionnaire Questions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Problems endorsed (percentage of respondents).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bezjak A, Ng P, Skeel R, Depetrillo AD, Comis R, Taylor KM (2001) Oncologists' use of quality of life information: results of a survey of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group physicians. Qual Life Res 10: 1–13 - PubMed
    1. Blake-Mortimer J, Gore-Felton C, Kimerling R, Turner-Cobb JM, Spiegel D (1999) Improving the quality and quantity of life among patients with cancer: a review of the effectiveness of group psychotherapy. Eur J Cancer 35: 1581–1586 - PubMed
    1. Bottomley A (1997) Where are we now? Evaluating two decades of group interventions with adult cancer patients. J Psychiatr Mental Health Nurs 4: 251–265 - PubMed
    1. Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (1999) Standards: Canadian association of psychosocial oncology. Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, Montreal, Canada
    1. Carlson LE, Bultz BD (2002) Efficacy vs. cost of psychosocial interventions: an evidence-based call for action. Oncol Exchange 1: 34–51

Publication types