Understanding causes of distress in women with gynecologic cancer.

94 Background: Lay patient navigators can screen patients using a distress tool (DT) to identify and address multiple patient concerns. Patient-reported distress can be used to characterize the needs of patients with ovarian, endometrial, and cervical cancer through all phases of care from initial diagnosis through active treatment and into survivorship. Methods: The Patient Care Connect Program (PCCP) includes 12 cancer centers throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee and navigates Medicare beneficiaries with cancer. Within the PCCP, navigators documented distress levels, causes of distress, and requests for intervention. Distress screening results were used to describe needs of patients with gynecologic malignancies and to assess effective resolution of distress. Results: Initial DT results were collected on 360 patients with gynecologic cancers: 206 (57%) ovarian, 111 (31%) endometrial, and 43 (12%) cervical cancers. Fifty-six (16%) were African American. Twenty-four percent of ...