Symptom distress in middle-aged and elderly women undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer

Abstract

The incidence of ovarian cancer increases as women age. In the United States more than 20,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Treatment for ovarian cancer can cause many distressful symptoms to the patient. According to Johnson's (1975) theory, if this population is informed of possible distressful symptoms their distress could be minimized. The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of symptom distress in middle-aged and elderly women undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer. The results of this study indicate that indeed these women have distressful symptoms as a result of treatment. Fatigue was the most frequent symptom distress experienced by this population, followed by change in sleeping pattern, outlook and pain. Further research needs to test interventions of providing information regarding distressful symptoms and an intervention that might include palliative treatment for such symptoms.