Cancer Affects Mental Health, Not Just The Physical
Here we will talk about how cancer affects mental health, not just the physical health of these patients. Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. In 2018 alone, 18.1 million new cases were diagnosed.
In addition, it is estimated that the number of patients will continue to increase in the coming decades until it reaches 29.5 million new cases by 2040.
There are also many different causes of cancer. For example, there is genetics, infections, radiation and exposure to chemical carcinogens. In addition, there are lots of cases due to lifestyle.
Tobacco, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, chronic stress, obesity and inadequate nutrition are actually factors that directly or indirectly increase the risk of developing a malignant tumor.
As with any other disease that develops over time and has a high mortality rate, cancer also affects mental health in a very profound way.
How do patients respond to the diagnosis?
When faced with a diagnosis, people react in very different ways. It depends on their personality and the significance that cancer has for them. According to Moorey and Greer (1989) , patients respond based on their adaptation method. The five most common are:
- Match. The person acquires a proactive attitude towards the disease, seeks information and becomes involved in the treatment.
- Denial. The patient does not talk about the problem and acts as if they do not have the disease.
- Fatalism. The person puts themselves in the worst case scenario, whatever they have the objective data to back it up or not.
- Desperation. The patient has many negative thoughts that promote a depressive image.
- Anxiety. The patient has difficulty dealing with the uncertainty caused by the disease.
Do patients’ emotions change over time?
Just as patients go through different phases of their physical illness, so do their thoughts and feelings.
It will be very different if the patient responds to the treatment and there is a cure or if there is partial improvement. It is also different if there is relapse, if it spreads or it is incurable.
The patient’s personality and the stage in which their disease is in will therefore determine how they adapt.
Cancer affects mental health: Anxiety and depression in cancer patients
Anxiety and depression are the most common psychological reactions in cancer patients.
Depression
According to several studies, the incidence of depression can vary between 4 and 58% of patients depending on the population being studied and the stage of their disease.
The average is around 40%, which is a very high percentage compared to the general population.
A depressive episode can make the symptoms more difficult to control, and the patient may also refuse treatment more often.
For this reason, it is important that the people around them are familiar with symptoms of depression. They also need to communicate with the professional who provides professional emotional support to the patient.
Anxiety
Cancer can cause lots of situations where patients feel nervous and even intense fear. Some of the most common reasons are, for example:
- Reactive anxiety at diagnosis.
- Problems dealing with uncertainty.
- Reactivation of previous anxiety: Phobia, panic attacks, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress.
- Fear of physical suffering and pain.
- A feeling of loss of control.
- Existential crisis.
- Anxiety increased by the pharmacological treatment.
- Disorder caused by the pain of the family environment.
- Fear of treatment (side effects, surgery, physical and psychological consequences).
- Fear of death.
Emotional support is important as cancer affects mental health
The survival rate for cancer has increased in recent years for many different types. However, it is still a life-threatening disease for many patients.
Friends and family often focus more on the test results and biopsies, and we forget that cancer affects mental health. Studies also show that patients like a lot.
Lastly, it is essential that family and friends learn to provide emotional support to the patient. They can receive specific training, talk to a therapist or with a psychology specialist for cancer patients.
