1846P - The impact of newly diagnosed early breast cancer on distress, perception of health and psychologic resilience

Background

Confronting breast cancer diagnosis, alongside with complex and challenging treatment procedures comprise an extremely stressful experience. Psychological resilience (PR) is the ability to maintain or restore normal functioning while facing the adversity, leading to better quality of life and preventing stress-related health conditions in cancer patients. We aimed to investigate the impact of early breast cancer (EBC) diagnosis on PR, distress and perception of health.

Methods

Case-controlled study included 50 newly diagnosed EBC patients and 67 women without breast cancer whose screening mammography was graded by Breast imaging-reporting and data system 1 and 2. The level of distress, perception of health and PR were assessed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21, SF 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 and Connor-Davidson RISC-25 scale. EBC patients were questioned after confronting EBC diagnosis and before starting the treatment.

Results

The EBC patients reported deterioration of health, compared to previous year (t (df) 3,835, p<0.01), while there were no differences between groups related to general and emotional health. There was no significant statistical difference between groups regarding the levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Majority of the EBC patients and controls, 66% and 82%, had no symptoms of depression, while severe depression was noted in 10% and 3%, respectively. Around 78% EBC patients and 89% controls didn't show any anxiety. Still, 8% EBC patients and 4.5% controls were severely anxious, and 10% EBC and 4% controls were severely stressed. And finally, regarding resilience, EBC patients showed significantly higher levels of PR than healthy control (t(df) 2,530, p<0.05).

Conclusions

Confronting EBC diagnosis, possibly leads to activation of intra-individual coping mechanisms and dynamic processes of effective adaptation leading to higher PR levels of EBC patients compared with healthy controls. Further research of PR should be encouraged, by investigating the mechanisms that protect individuals and prevent stress-related health conditions, resilience research shifts a paradigm from a disease-oriented to health-oriented and focuses on mechanisms that prevent stress-related disorders.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.