More negative emotion and symptom burden for female cancer patients

Background: Patients' well-being may be affected by the cancer diagnosis. Psychological response is part of a reaction to the news of cancer diagnosis. Little published data concerns the gender difference of psychological responses to the news of cancer diagnosis and its influence on the symptom burden. The aim of the study is to verify the hypothesis that female cancer patients have more negative emotion and symptom burden, comparing to males. Patients and methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight cancer patients were assessed by self-administered questionnaire. Psychological response was measured by the Chinese version of Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale, and symptom burden was measured by the physical symptom distress scale from the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist. SPSS 13.0 was used. Results: Female cancer patients got higher scores of negative emotion (P = 0.003), cognitive avoidance (P = 0.001), and symptom burden (P = 0.028) than males. Patients with degrees lower than high school got lower scores of negative emotion and cognitive avoidance. Lung cancer patients got higher scores of negative emotion and lower scores of positive attitude. Conclusion: Female cancer patients, especially those who did not go to high school and those with lung cancer, have more negative emotion and symptom burden, comparing to males. Appropriate psychological intervention for female cancer patients deserves more attention.