Depression among cancer patients and its relationship with chemotherapy side effects

Abstract

Objectives: to assess the level of depression among cancer patients and the chemotherapy side effects and to find out the significant difference between depression level regarding these side effects.
Methodology: A descriptive analytical study was conducted on a purposive sample of 50 cancer patients from both sexes who were admitted to Radiation and Neuclur Medicine Hospital in Baghdad for the purpose of giving chemotherapy for the period from April 4th to June 20th , 2008. A structured interview using the Self Care Diary (SCD) of Nail et al (1991) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was implemented for data collection.
Results: It was found that cancer patient has a significant level of depression which was not related to chemotherapy side effect but may be due to the disease it self.
Recommendations: Group and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy programs can be implemented for cancer patients to improve the psychological wellbeing of cancer patients.