[Screening psychological distress in breast cancer patients on treatment]

The aim of our study was to evaluate emotional distress among women with breast cancer treated by radiotherapy, using a Visual Analogue Scale (an adaptation of the "Distress Thermometer" French version) associated with a Needs Scale with several items, in order to identify patients requiring psychological care.

Our sample is composed of 277 women treated for breast cancer with radiotherapy. Our psychological evaluation is made of a first enquiry using a visual analogue distress scale and complemented by a Needs Scale with several items. A grade above 3 on the visual analogue distress scale is a reliable indicator; a grade above 4 out of 20 leads us to propose the patient a consultation with a psychologist.

Two hundred and sixty-four female patients with a mean age of 61 years are the object of the study. Among them, 59.2% of patients display a disarray of low intensity (psychological suffering graded between 0 and 2) whereas 40% show a grade equal or superior to 3, considered as pathological on a psychological side: 30% of the patients have a grade between 3 et 5 and less than 2% of the patients display a grade reaching 9 or 10. Concerning the Needs Scale, more than 80% of the patients show a total score below 10 out of 20 and we observe a positive correlation between the total score of the Needs Scale with several items and the Visual Analogue Distress Scale score.

Our results highlight the difficulty for most of the patients to cope with emotional distress linked to their disease. We discuss the necessity to increase awareness among caregivers on this psychological distress, through the use of simple tools such as a Visual Analogue Scale associated with a Needs Scale, so as to provide a holistic care for women with breast cancer.