Screening for distress in patients with brain cancer using the NCCN's rapid screening measure
Stephen T. Keir,
Roberta D. Calhoun-Eagan,
Jonas J. Swartz,
Oussama A. Saleh,
Henry S. Friedman
Article first published online: 31 OCT 2007
DOI: 10.1002/pon.1271
Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Issue
Psycho-Oncology
Volume 17, Issue 6, pages 621–625, June 2008
Keir, S. T., Calhoun-Eagan, R. D., Swartz, J. J., Saleh, O. A. and Friedman, H. S. (2008), Screening for distress in patients with brain cancer using the NCCN's rapid screening measure. Psycho-Oncology, 17: 621–625. doi: 10.1002/pon.1271
Author InformationThe Tug McGraw Research Center, The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, Durham, NC, USA
Email: Stephen T. Keir (Keir0001@mc.duke.edu)
*Correspondence: Stephen T. Keir, The Tug McGraw Research Center, The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, 3624 DUMC, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Publication History
Issue published online: 16 JUN 2008
Article first published online: 31 OCT 2007
Manuscript Accepted: 4 AUG 2007
Manuscript Received: 30 JUL 2007
Keywords
brain cancer;
brain tumor;
distress;
stress;
quality of life
Abstract
Goals of work: Patients with brain cancer are at a risk of experiencing elevated levels of distress due to the severe functional, neurocognitive, and neuropsychological sequelae of the disease. Using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Distress Thermometer, we evaluated the extent and sources of distress within a population of patients with brain cancer.
Patients and methods: Participants were asked to complete the Distress Thermometer, a single-item rapid screening tool for distress. The Distress Thermometer is a visual analog scale on which participants rate their level of distress from ‘0’ (none) to ‘10’ (extreme). Participants were also asked to designate which items from a 34-item list constitute sources of distress.
Main results: Fifty-two percent of participants met the ⩾4 cut-off score for distress. The scores were positively correlated with patient-reported emotional sources of distress (r=0.444, p<0.001), physical sources of stress [...]