Luzia Travado: improving outcomes for patients by attending to their distress - Cover Story - Issues 45 - Articles - Cancer World

(Psycho-oncology)

“Psychosocial burdens can be more threatening in many cases than the disease itself,” says Travado. “Even when a cancer is treatable someone may feel in despair and not cope. What we need to impress on policy makers and the medical community is that we are part of the frontline team and not a separate department dealing with a different part of a patient.”

full free access:Prevalence of mental health conditions in cancer patients in acute care—a meta-analysis — Ann Oncol

"Further research is needed to identify reasons for the heterogeneity in prevalence rates. It may be that tumour site, stage, and treatment as well as cultural factors may play a role, but this needs further investigation. In addition, a fair amount of oncological care takes place in outpatient settings. It would therefore be worthwhile to carry out another meta-analysis of studies, investigating the prevalence of mental disorders at that stage of cancer care."