The Correlation of Psychological Symptoms, Quality of Life and Resilience in Patients with Recurrent Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Recurrent non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) may be accompanied by cosmetic, functional, and emotional consequences. Aims: To examine associations among psychological symptoms, quality of life, resilience, and religiosity and to compare psychological outcomes between patients treated once and patients with recurrent facial NMSC. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 160 patients after surgery for facial NMSC (63 treated once and 97 with recurrent disease). Data were collected with a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 25 (CD-RISC-25), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and DUREL. Results: Greater psychological symptom severity was consistently associated with poorer scores across all WHOQOL-BREF domains. The overall multivariate group effect was significant (Pillai’s Trace = 0.235, F(6.149) = 7.641, p < 0.001, partial eta squared = 0.235). After Bonferroni correction for six follow-up tests, patients with recurrent NMSC had a higher adjusted GSI and lower adjusted psychological health scores than patients treated once (both p < 0.001). Adjusted differences in physical health, social relationships, environment, and CD-RISC were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Recurrent NMSC status was associated with greater psychological symptom burden and poorer psychological quality of life. Routine psychological screening may help identify patients who require further assessment or support.