Suicide tendency in cancer patients

The aim of the study was to discover whether there are differences in suicide tendency in cancer patients during the various stages of the illness, i.e., diagnosis, adjuvant chemotherapy, and recurrence. The patients were being treated at two oncological medical centers in northern Israel. No statistical differences were found between 30 newly diagnosed cancer patients, 51 cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, and 33 cancer patients with recurrence receiving chemotherapy, as measured by the Israeli Index of Potential Suicide (IIPS). The main findings show a correlation between suicide tendency and depression, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), although not between suicide tendency and hopelessness, as measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). The findings also indicate statistical differences between the groups in hopelessness and social support: newly diagnosed patients have more symptoms of hopelessness, while patients in recurrence receive more social support than the other two groups.