Cancer worry interference and health service utilization in women with Lynch Syndrome: the role of trusting one's physician

Lynch syndrome (LS) is a genetic predisposition to adult-onset of multiple cancers. Some high risk women report significant cancer-specific distress (Ritvo et al., 1999) and highly anxious high risk women may utilize more medical services than those who are less anxious (e.g., Bish et al., 2002). Trust in one's physician has been found to be associated with less anxiety and distress in patients and a reduction in medical visits. The current study examined the association between intolerance of uncertainty and prior cancer diagnosis with cancer-specific worry interference and medical utilization in women with LS (N=128) via self-report measures. Additionally, trust in physician was examined as a moderator. Findings indicated higher intolerance of uncertainty was associated with more worry interference, and having more trust in one’s physician moderated this relationship. Having a greater number of prior cancer diagnoses was also associated with both outcomes, but trust in physician did not moderate these relationships. The implications for potential intervention are discussed.