Offering patients a choice of surgery for early breast cancer: A reduction in anxiety and depression in patients and their husbands

It is indicated that with proper counselling patients and husbands suffer less stress if they are allowed to take an active part in the treatment of their cancer.

Abstract

Thirty patients with early breast cancer have been studied prospectively to assess whether being offered a choice of surgery (simple mastectomy or wide excision plus radiotherapy) influences levels of anxiety and depression pre- and post-operatively. A significantly higher percentage of the patients not offered a choice of surgery experienced clinical levels of anxiety and depression pre-operatively and up to 2 months post-operatively compared with patients offered a choice; the results were also similar for the husbands of these patients. At 6 months, differences between the 2 groups were not statistically significant, although the trend remained the same with more patients not offered a choice of treatment showing high levels of anxiety and depression. Patients offered a choice of surgery had similar pre-operative levels of anxiety and depression to patients with benign breast disease and patients undergoing surgery for non-cancerous conditions. This study indicates that with proper counselling patients and husbands suffer less stress if they are allowed to take an active part in the treatment of their cancer.