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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Therapeutic Massage for Psychological Well-being in Geriatric Oncology
Published on: May 22, 2026
Distress, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
Manoj Pandey1, Gangadharan P Sarita, Nandkumar Devi
1Department of Surgical Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, India. manojpandey@vsnl.com
Background:
Chemotherapy for cancer is an intense and cyclic treatment associated with number of side-effects. The present study evaluated the effect of chemotherapy on distress, anxiety and depression.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 117 patients were evaluated by using distress inventory for cancer (DIC2) and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Majority of the patients were taking chemotherapy for solid tumors (52; 44.4%).
Results:
The mean distress score was 24, 18 (15.38%) were found to have anxiety while 19 (16.23%) had depression. High social status was the only factor found to influence distress while female gender was the only factor found to influence depression in the present study.
Conclusion:
The study highlights high psychological morbidity of cancer patients and influence of gender on depression. Construct of distress as evaluated by DIC 2 may have a possible overlap with anxiety.
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Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.