Assessment of patient's feeling and psychological impact of Announcement of cancer diagnosis at HASSAN II university hospital in Fez.

Introduction:The announcement of the diagnosis of cancer is the first step in the management; it conditions the experience of the disease and compliance with treatment. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess patients' feelings about the diagnosis of cancer and its psychological impact. Methodology: We conducted a monocentric cross-sectional study at Hassan II university hospital; we included 203 newly diagnosed patients over the year 2021. We assessed patient perception after the announcement and identified its psychological impact through the MINI scale. Results: The average age was 52 (18-92). 65% were female, 51.7% were urban and 59.1% had a low income. 72.0% of patients felt that the time spent on the announcement was not sufficient, 68.5% were not involved in the therapeutic choice and 68.1% of our patients felt that their social, family and economic situation was not taken into account. In terms of overall patient perceptions of the announcement, 77.3% of participants were satisfied. Three main psychiatric disorders were identified, major depression (37.9%), generalized anxiety (30.5%), and post-traumatic stress (8.4%). Patients who were dissatisfied with the quality of diagnosis announcement are 5.4 times more likely to have major depression independently of other factors (P<0.0001). Conclusion: In our social context, the announcement of a cancer diagnosis can have psychological repercussions on patients or the interest in setting up a personalized announcement consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]