Psychological Distress and Resilience in Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Greece

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer among women worldwide, especially in developed countries. To be diagnosed with breast cancer and undergo cancer treatment can be a very stressful event. It is estimated that one-third of cancer patients are dealing with psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression and resilience is a way of coping and overcome life stressors such cancer diagnosis. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine resilience in women diagnosed with breast cancer and its association with depression and anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, 144 women diagnosed with breast cancer answered a questionnaire consisted of four parts: Sociodemographic data, the Patient Health Questionnaire Two-Item Depression Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25. Results: The majority of the sample belongs to age group 51- 60 years, with the mean age of 53.5 SD±11.7 years. The 59.5% of patients were residents of an urban area, 56.8% were married and 36.5% has 2 children. The mean value of CD-RISC25 was 65.3 SD±17.9, meaning a moderate resilience of cancer patients. The 54.5% of respondents indicated a depressed mood. The anxiety severity measured with the GAD-2, where the mean was 2.1 and 46.8% of patients suffered from high anxiety. Conclusions: According to our results, resilience can negative influence depressive symptomatology. Moreover, lower levels of depression can lead to fewer anxiety symptoms.