Background: Cancer diagnosis is a life-altering experience. To cope up with the illness and its consequences requires accepting and managing emotions that can interfere with medical care and daily activities. Cancer patients can have many psychiatric disorders; common conditions diagnosed are depression, anxiety and adjustment disorders. Our study aims to report the prevalence of depression in Radiation Oncology in-patients at our hospital. Objectives: To report the prevalence of depression in Radiation Oncology in-patients at our hospital Methods: A total of 50 patients with cancer on Radiation Therapy at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Father Muller Medical College Hospital, Mangalore were included in the study. All cases were screened for depressive disorders using MINI PLUS. Results: Out of 50 cancer patients screened, 19 (38%) patients were identified to have depression using MINI. There was no association found between different variables such as Age, Gender, Marital status and type of treatment. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of psychiatric disorder, especially depression, amongst the cancer patients. Routine evaluation of all cancer patients might be a necessity and that needs to be addressed in larger prospective surveys.
