Distress – Our “Internal Enemy”: How to “Disarm” or Lessen its Negative Impact on the Psychophysical Condition of Women with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?

Stress is an inevitable part of life. It constantly bombards our lives, and these explosions range from minor daily frustrations to overwhelming fear brought on by the adverse prognosis of serious diseases, like triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In patients with cancer, distress has been defined as “a multifactorial unpleasant experience of a psychological (e.g., cognitive, behavioral, emotional), social, spiritual, and physical nature that may interfere with the ability to cope effectively with cancer, its physical symptoms, and its treatment. However, even in such a difficult health-related situation, it is encouraging that some consequences of distress are not inevitable. Some natural questions for every woman with cancer (e.g., TNBC) are: “What are the normal limits of distress?” and “What to do when distress becomes more serious?” This chapter will briefly address the above questions and will present some tools that can be used to measure distress. In addition, a few simple strategies that are easily accessible and effective in Distress Management and its complications will be suggested (e.g., “Do's and Don'ts” list of recommendations).

Keywords: Cancer care team, Distress, Distress thermometer, Social services, Support.