The Correlation Among Symptom Distress, Uncertainty, and Anxiety for Liver Cancer Patients Received Transcatheter Arterial Embolization

Background: Liver cancer has been ranked the 2nd cause of death in male and female of cancer patients.Liver cancer has high recurrence, and patients need to be admitted to receive treatments repeatedly; due to physical and psychological discomforts resulted from the treatment, patients were unwilling to receive treatment; however, it is rarelydiscussed in the literatures. Due to medical advances, the current survival rate has improved in part to a variety of treatment options. Clinical care is still somewhat focused on symptom care. However, from diagnosis to treatment, patients are still affected by the crisis, impact, and waiting time before treatment decisions, resulting in different responses, thus affecting the patient’s further course of action. Not only brings serious physical and psychological distress but also impact fot the quality life.

Purpose:This study intended to apply anxiety model to discuss the correlation among symptom distress, uncertainty, and anxiety for liver cancer patients after receiving Transcatheter Arterial Embolization.

Methods:This study intended to apply anxiety model to discuss the orrelation among symptom distress, uncertainty, and anxiety for liver cancer patients after receiving Transcatheter Arterial Embolization.

Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. It also includes a basic personal information table. Questionnairescales included the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Taiwan Form, Mishel Uncertainty in

Illness Scale and Beck AnxietyInventorys Scale. The number of sample cases recorded is 131. SPSS 23.0 software is used to carry out statistical analysis of the research data, including number of times, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis described.

Results:（1）Liver cancer patients received Transcatheter Arterial Embolization had middle degree of symptom distress and illness uncertainty, and mild degree of anxiety. （2）Symptom distress, uncertainty, and anxiety displayed a positive correlation.

Conclusion: In order to decrease patients’ uncertainty and anxiety, Clinical nursing staff needs to develop a complete nursing measure for individual patient and enhance in explaining the possible symptom distress situation to liver patients who will receive Transcatheter Arterial Embolization. This plan should be met patients’ need, offer clear information and health education, and provide detailed explanation on related disease symptom to lower the patients’ uncertainty and anxiety.

Keywords:liver cancer, Transcatheter Arterial Embolization, symptom

distress, uncertainty, anxiety