Do cancer follow-up consultations create anxiety?

Recent literature has suggested that follow- up visits provide psychological support for patients with cancer, but largely without objective evidence.

To examine the psychological impact of follow-up consultations on cancer patients and identify factors that influence patient anxiety.

Patients attending a routine follow-up at Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre were surveyed. Using the State & Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), anxiety scores were obtained before and after consultation.

Two hundred and thirty-one patients participated, 199 patients were treated with curative intent, 62% were male. The mean anxiety score was higher in females and in palliative cases. Lower levels of social support, poor perception of own health and receiving bad news during consultation were associated with higher STAI scores. Satisfaction with cancer treatment was associated with lower STAI scores. There was a small but statistically significant reduction of anxiety scores after consultation (p = 0.02).

When measured objectively, specialist consultation appears to have a small, but statistically significant, positive impact on the level of patient anxiety. Patient satisfaction correlated well with the patient anxiety levels.