Psychological intervention for anxiety management port a cath placement in women with breast cancer

Abstract

Different surgical procedures facing cancer patients, one of them being the placement of the port a cath for the administration of chemotherapy. During this procedure the patient may have high levels of anxiety, so it is necessary to use psychological strategies that help the patient to manage it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a cognitive behavioral intervention (psychoeducation and passive relaxation) before placing the port a cath in women with breast cancer. Involving nine women candidates for placement of port a cath, with a mean age of 55 years. We measured the degree of perceived anxiety before and after the procedure using a numerical-anxiety scale (0-10). Also evaluated signs and symptoms of anxiety with two check lists. Descriptive statistics were used for demographic data and sign test to assess the significance of changes in the level and anxiety symptoms. In six of the nine patients showed a decrease in the degree of anxiety and perceived symptoms, the intervention was useful for the management of anxiety during this surgical procedure, however, concluded that it is necessary to test other design.