A quantitative approach to the distress caused by symptoms in patients treated with radical radiotherapy.

A computerised self-assessment instrument was used to capture data on the distress caused by symptoms in 110 patients treated with radical radiotherapy. Patients selected symptoms from a list of 34 problems and then quantified the distress associated with each problem using a linear Analogue self assessment (LASA)-type scale. The test instrument was feasible: 90% of assessments were completed in under 14 min. There was a significant increase in tiredness and significant decrease in anxiety and worries about the family, during treatment. Menopausal symptoms and post-surgical problems were important causes of distress in the patients with breast cancer. When the area under the curve method was used to quantify distress in the patients with breast cancer, difficulty concentrating, pain and sleep disturbances emerged as significantly troublesome problems. Computerised self-assessment may have a useful role in quantifying the distress caused by treatment with radiotherapy.