Anxiety in long-term cancer survivors influences the acceptability of planned discharge from follow-up.
Anxiety levels in a sample of 65 long-term cancer survivors were assessed in a study of the effects of a planned discharge from an oncology clinic. Thirty-one percent of patients scored > or = 8, and 12% > or = 11 on the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), indicating that anxiety rates in patients in long-standing remission do not greatly differ from patients with active disease. Despite the provision of continued support and guaranteed fast-access return to the clinic if necessary, 28% of patients refused to be discharged. Fear that recurrence would not be detected was the reason most frequently cited. Seventy-five percent of these patients were HADS anxiety cases. A second assessment 4-5 months later of the 41 patients who were discharged showed a slight, but non-significant increase in anxiety rates suggesting that anxiety in cancer survivors may be persistent and not related to clinic attendance.