Experts Call For Increased Scrutiny For Psychological, Social Distress In Cancer Patients

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 25 Oct 2007 - 7:00 PST

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Cancer specialists should identify and help patients cope with psychological and social problems following a diagnosis that, left unaddressed, could cause anxiety and delays in treatment, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Tuesday, USA Today reports. According to the report, oncologists and other cancer providers typically focus on cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, and can overlook other problems, such as depression, a lack of health insurance, or difficulty with transportation to and from appointments. IOM, which appointed a panel of cancer care experts to study the issue, found that people who become depressed after being diagnosed might delay care, which could allow a tumor to grow and become more deadly. The report calls on oncologists to routinely screen patients for mental health problems and then refer them to or provide the appropriate services, according to Nancy Adler, chair of the panel and vice chair or the psychiatry department at the University of California-San Francisco (Fackelmann, USA Today, 10/24).

The report is available online.

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