Breast cancer has been the most studied cancer in the field of psycho oncology. Because 75% of breast cancer patients will become breast cancer survivors, needs go beyond diagnosis and treatment. Adjustment to life after breast cancer can pose special challenges.
Some points of this webinar:
1) Psycho social distress in dealing with a cancer diagnosis--points of stress for the cancer patient, interventions to address these stresses,
2) Use of community based services--should be routinely offered to patients, private based medical practices do not routinely employ psycho-social professionals, patients often seen many different physicians in various busy outpatient offices this creates fragmentation of care and can add an additional psychological burden, patients reluctant to discuss psycho social problems with physician
3) Lack of insurance, or mental health services provided at lower payment level, no screenings for psycho social problems
4) Programs should be put into place and monitored with quality assurance program to ensure compliance with standards of care, physician education and training in communication skills
5) Determine eligibility criteria so that the patient population that needs these services get them and those that do not need them are not subjected to additional or unwanted services
Below is the pod cast discussing survivorship and the psychological stresses involved:
http://media.nap.edu/podcasts/nax39breastcanc.mp3
National Academy Press: More podcasts are available at their website. You may also read full texts on cancer topics free online.
http://www.nap.edu/topicpage.php?topic=387
The National Academies Press (NAP) was created by the National Academies to publish the reports issued by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States. The NAP publishes more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health, capturing the most authoritative views on important issues in science and health policy. The institutions represented by the NAP are unique in that they attract the nation's leading experts in every field to serve on their award-winning panels and committees. This is the right place for definitive information on everything from space science to animal nutrition.
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