Abstract
Psychological distress is especially common with any cancer diagnosis. This study examined the psychological distress in a cohort of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. A longitudinal study of a cohort of women (n=147) diagnosed with breast cancer (within the past 1 year), were conducted at University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Data were collected at baseline and at post 4-week intervention. Analysis of variance was conducted to examine for any significant differences in the change-scores between the experimental group (n=69) and the control group (n=78). Using the change scores, analysis of variances shows significant differences between groups for stress, F(1,140) =13.68, p<0.0001, anxiety, F(1,140) = 8.44, p<0.004, and depression, F(1,140) =11.57, p<0.0001. Levels of stress, anxiety and depression generally decreased significantly in the experimental groups (p<0.05), but either maintained or increased in the control group. This study indicates that the level of psychological distress of women with breast cancer can be ameliorated with a 4 week self management intervention. Lower stress was also found in women who reported engagement in higher physical activity than women with low physical activity. Future studies may examine role of physical activity in ameliorating distress.
