International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

ISSN 2220-8488 (Print), 2221-0989 (Online) 10.30845/ijhss

Depression and Anxiety Reported by Patients with Cancer of Breast and Uterus
Yasmin Nilofer Farooqi, Maryam Chaudhry

Abstract
The present research explored differences in level of depression and anxiety reported by the patients with cancer of breast and uterus. Survey research design was used. The purposive sample of 60 female patients already diagnosed for breast cancer (n = 30) and uterus cancer (n = 30) was drawn from three hospitals of Lahore city of Pakistan after getting written consent from the hospital authorities and the patients. Urdu version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) by Mumford, Tareen, Bajwa, Bhatti and Karim (1991) was individually administered to all the participants to determine their level of depression and anxiety. Independent sample t- test was performed by using SPSS version 11.5 to determine differences in anxiety and depression among patients with cancer of breast and uterus. The results suggested that the patients with uterus cancer reported significantly higher level of depression and anxiety as compared to those suffering from breast cancer (**p < .01). However, age, education and duration of cancer were not significantly correlated with depression and anxiety. It is concluded that the female patients with uterus cancer would manifest more anxiety and depression than those with breast cancer. These findings have implications for promoting our understanding of the psychological problems of the patients with breast and uterus cancer and may help the professionals in the fields of oncology and health psychology to introduce psychological interventions for the treatment and rehabilitation of the cancer patients in the Pakistani healthcare system.

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