• Marianna Kyranou, Kathleen Puntillo, Laura B Dunn, Bradley E Aouizerat, Steven M Paul, Bruce A Cooper, John Neuhaus, Claudia West, Marylin Dodd, and Christine Miaskowski.
• Author Affiliations: School of Nursing (Drs Kyranou, Puntillo, Aouizerat, Paul, Cooper, Dodd, and Miaskowski and Ms West), School of Medicine (Drs Dunn and Neuhaus), and the Institute for Human Genetics (Dr Aouizerat), University of California, San Francisco.
• Cancer Nurs. 2014 Nov 1; 37 (6): 406-17.

BackgroundThe diagnosis of breast cancer, in combination with the anticipation of surgery, evokes fear, uncertainty, and anxiety in most women.ObjectiveStudy purposes were to examine in patients who underwent breast cancer surgery how ratings of state anxiety changed from the time of the preoperative assessment to 6 months after surgery and to investigate whether specific demographic, clinical, symptom, and psychosocial adjustment characteristics predicted the preoperative levels of state anxiety and/or characteristics of the trajectories of state anxiety.Interventions/MethodsPatients (n = 396) were enrolled preoperatively and completed the Spielberger State Anxiety inventory monthly for 6 months. Using hierarchical linear modeling, demographic, clinical, symptom, and psychosocial adjustment characteristics were evaluated as predictors of initial levels and trajectories of state anxiety.ResultsPatients experienced moderate levels of anxiety before surgery. Higher levels of depressive symptoms and uncertainty about the future, as well as lower levels of life satisfaction, less sense of control, and greater difficulty coping, predicted higher preoperative levels of state anxiety. Higher preoperative state anxiety, poorer physical health, decreased sense of control, and more feelings of isolation predicted higher state anxiety scores over time.ConclusionsModerate levels of anxiety persist in women for 6 months after breast cancer surgery.Implications For PracticeClinicians need to implement systematic assessments of anxiety to identify high-risk women who warrant more targeted interventions. In addition, ongoing follow-up is needed to prevent adverse postoperative outcomes and to support women to return to their preoperative levels of function.

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