Patient Anxiety Related to Patient-Perceived Delays in Surgical Treatment of Skin Cancer

BACKGROUNDPatients undergoing dermatologic surgery report higher anxiety levels than those undergoing nonsurgical treatments. However, little is known about the association between patient-perceived delays in skin cancer surgery and patient-reported anxiety.OBJECTIVETo examine the relationship between patient-perceived delays in surgery and patient-reported anxiety.METHODS & MATERIALSPatients undergoing wide local excision or Mohs micrographic surgery were recruited to complete a survey to assess perception of surgical delay and anxiety related to skin cancer surgery using the validated Psychosocial Screen for Cancer-Revised. Demographic and surgical characteristics were collected through chart review. Chi-square and Student t-tests were used to compare demographic and surgical information between patients who did and did not perceive a surgical delay. Differences in anxiety and depression scores for patients who did and did not report a delay were assessed using univariate and multivariate regressions.RESULTSTwenty-seven percent (N = 33) of patients perceived a surgical delay. Perception of surgical delay was associated with increased time between biopsy and surgery (p =.0001) and increased self-reported anxiety scores after controlling for various demographic and surgical factors (p =.038).CONCLUSIONPatient-perceived delays in dermatologic surgery are associated with increased time to surgery and patient-reported anxiety.