Background: Cancer is a life threatening and feared diagnosis and is the second leading cause of death globally. Depression is the most common psychological disorder in cancer patients and upto 1 in 4 people with cancer suffer from clinical depression. Besides genetic factors and family history, many demographic factors like age, gender, marital status, socio-economic status, etc are responsible for manifestation of depression in cancer patients.
Methods: Present cross-sectional study was conducted amongst cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at Day Care Centre, Department of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur. 95 participants were interviewed using predesigned and pretested questionnaire based on the Beck’s Depression Inventory.
Results: Depression was found to be present in 70 (73.69%) study subjects. Socio-economic status and type of treatment were found to be significantly related with depression.
Conclusion: The proportion of depression in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy is quite high. Factors like SES and type of treatment play an important role in contributing to depressive symptoms.
