Screening of emotional distress in non-small cell lung cancer patients with surgery treatment.

Abstract

Lung cancer is the most common malignant disease and the principal cause of oncology death in Western countries. Its poor prognosis due to the difficulty of early diagnosis, causal attributions related to personal tobacco consumption and resulting symptoms, not only from the progress of the disease but also from the side effects of treatment, can cause high emotional distress and a decreased quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to review first the psychological problems found in patients suffering from non-small lung cancer susceptible to surgery treatment, and secondly, provide information about the assessment procedures most frequently used in this group of patients in order to establish a screening protocol to detect patients at risk for emotional distress. Based on existing data we recommended to assess emotional distress, pain and quality of life from the time of diagnosis and through all the process with the following assessment tools: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, EORTC QLQ C30 and LC13, and Brief Pain Inventory. With the results of the screening measure we should refer patients experiencing to the Psycho- Ooncology Unit.