We all know psychology is science or the study of human behaviors. But there are many fields related to psychology. Whereas oncology is a branch of the medical field that deals with various aspects of cancer and its treatment. But what is psycho-oncology?
Psycho-oncology
Psycho-oncology can be referred to as the field which focuses on the psychological, behavioral, social, and ethics-related aspects of cancer. This subspeciality determines two significant dimensions of cancer. The two dimensions are first the psychological responses of the patients and their families or caretakers at every stage of cancer and the second aspect seen can be Factors that influence the process of the disease. These factors include psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of life (Psycho-oncology, n.d.).
A variety of psychological and physical problems are caused by cancer and the treatments associated with it also, it can be fatigue, physical pain or in the case of psychological aspects anxiety, depression and increased tension in relationships and also has a significant impact on the quality of life (Lang-Rollin & Berberich, 2018).
Targets of psycho-oncologic interventions
There are several targets for psycho-oncological interventions which are as follows:
- Emotional issues: This includes psychiatric comorbid conditions, different subthreshold psychological conditions, being afraid of progression, etc.
- Physical issues: These include aches and pains, feelings of fatigue, sexual issues or reproduction, other conditions like insomnia, and other conditions related to cancer.
- Optimization of treatment: This contains adherence towards treatment, decisions related to treatment, painkiller use, and utilization of alternative medicines.
- Overall enhancement of general health condition: This consists of stress management, exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, etc.
- Aspects related to spiritual beliefs: These are related to religious concerns, personal growth, and bereavement or death.
- Social issues or assistance for practical: These are related to work, financial issues, housing, children’s care, etc. (Lang-Rollin & Berberich, 2018).
Cancer diagnosis and first onset of mental disorders:
A cohort study was conducted nationwide in Sweden. In the study, 2,44,261 cancer patients were considered as participants. For the study all clinical diagnoses were considered for all mental disorders, but major focus was on mood disorders, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders were seen to be common in cancer patients. Mental disorders were categorized into two parts i.e., first-onset and recurrent mental disorders (Zhu et al., 2017).
As per the results of the study, from the total number of participants, it was seen that 4.69% of participants were diagnosed with mental disorders like mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, and anxiety. Of these 4.69% participants, 2.9% participants were categorized into first onset mental disorders. It was also seen that enhanced risk of cancer-specific mortality in first onset mental disorders than the recurrent mental disorders, and the conclusion of the study was that cancer patients having first onset disorder may have a higher risk of cancer- specific death (Zhu et al., 2017).
Ovarian cancer and Increased risk of Mental illness:
As per the statistics, in the first two years after the diagnosis, the chances of having depression are higher by 3.11 times and after two – five years after diagnosis it decreases to 1.67 times than the general public. The risk of anxiety disorder in the first two years of diagnosis is higher 3.54 times and from two to five years of diagnosis it decreases to 1.86 times, and adjustment disorder has 3 times higher risk in people with ovarian cancer than people who do not have ovarian cancer (Ovarian Cancer Patients Face Increased Risk of Mental Illness | AACR | News Releases, 2021).
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in women and it has been difficult to treat as it is mostly diagnosed at a later stage. It has a survival rate of 48.6%. It was seen that women suffering from ovarian cancer have three times higher chances of being diagnosed with mental illnesses in comparison with the normal public in Philadelphia. The mental illness includes anxiety, adjustment disorder, and depression. This study was conducted by the Utah Cancer Registry. And the results of this research were presented during the AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) Annual Meeting 2021 which was conducted virtually (Ovarian Cancer Patients Face Increased Risk of Mental Illness | AACR | News Releases, 2021).
Spread of mental health issues in cancer patients during COVID – 19 pandemic
A cross-sectional study was conducted in China, with 6213 cancer patients. The study focused on exploring mental health problems in cancer patients through the COVID-19 pandemic. Wang et al. (2020) computed the linkage between psychological stress and mental health status by analyzing aspects such as socio-demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, interpersonal relationships with social support, psycho-somatic conditions, and COVID-19 infections in the study.
The conclusion of the study revealed that cancer patients experienced an increased prevalence of mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the total participants most of the patients had depression, followed by anxiety, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and hostility (Wang et al., 2020).
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