title: Cancer-Related Psychological Distress: A Concept Analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer-related psychological distress, as a concept, has limited research literature substantiation. Several studies report that patients with cancer suffer from significant psychological distress; however, the description of the concept of cancer-related psychological distress has not been clearly described. Theoretical work based on the concept is also unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article is a report on the concept of cancer-related psychological distress to clarify the concept as separate from non-cancer-related psychological distress and promote the use of the term in nursing practice and research across the cancer trajectory.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article used a content analysis to examine the literature. The literature review for this article used CINAHL®, PsycINFO®, and PubMed to search publications from 1999-2016.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Content analysis of the literature revealed that the term psychological distress was used often with regard to distress in patients with cancer, but the concept of cancer-related psychological distress was not clearly defined. Four attributes encompass the concept of cancer-related psychological distress.
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico Hospital.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gundelach
authors.affiliation: Melvin S. Gale, MD, and Associates.
authors.forename: Barb
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Henry
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing*
keywords: cancer; concept analysis; neoplasm; nursing; psychological distress; stress