Anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients before and after participation in a cancer support group

A prospective study was conducted to assess the long-term impact of attending a support group on the prevalence of psychological morbidity in patients with breast cancer before and after 1-year participation in the Iranian breast cancer support group. Psychological morbidity was measured using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). In addition, qualitative data were collected to throw some lights on the topic. All current members of the three Iranian breast cancer support groups (n=56) were interviewed. The mean age of patients was 45.4 (S.D.=9.2) years, most were married (n=46, 82%), and 54% of patients (n=30) were diagnosed as having breast cancer from 1 to 5 years ago. While at baseline 16 patients (29%) scored high on the anxiety sub-scale and eight patients (14%) scored high on the depression sub-scale, at follow-up only two patients (2%) were likely experiencing severe anxiety symptoms and there were no patients with probable severely depressed mood. Comparing anxiety and depression at baseline and follow-up, there was a statistically significant difference between baseline and follow-up anxiety (P=0.03) and depression (P=0.008) scores. Analysis of the qualitative data indicated that the group involvement was the most important factor that contributed to the patients' improved psychological well-being. The findings of this prospective study suggest that participation in cancer support groups could have a long-term effect in reducing anxiety and depression in breast cancer survivors.