https://www.dpa-international.com/trends-and-features/urn:newsml:dpa.com:20090101:261003-99-844309/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/tackling-cancer-linked-depression-boosts-130335703.html
When a cancer diagnosis is confirmed, the impact can be so devastating that morale not only drops as worry sets in, but a patient can spiral into depression.
But while dealing with mental health can seem like less of a priority in the face of life-threatening illness, any sign of related depression should be nipped in the bud, going by a study of around 265,000 cancer patients.
According to Edmund Qiao, a radiation oncologist at University of California San Diego, “psychotherapy soon after diagnosis” can be associated with a lower mortality rate.
Qiao’s findings, which showed only 3% of cancer patients receiving timely treatment for depression, were presented at a recent American Society for Radiation Oncology (Astro) conference in Boston.
“Patients with major depressive disorder had a higher risk of dying from their cancer, while those who received psychotherapy within four weeks of their cancer diagnosis had a 21% lower risk of cancer-specific mortality,” Astro said in a statement previewing the conference session.
Qiao’s research, which covered breast, colorectal, prostate, bladder, kidney or non-small cell lung cancer, revealed that patients suffering depression had an 11% higher risk of cancer-specific mortality than those without depression in the aftermath of diagnosis
One year on, 29% of patients with depression had died from their cancer, compared with 21% of patients without, Astro explained, with the five-year difference given as 43% versus 35%.
“[T]hese findings support identifying patients who may need mental health care and connecting them with appropriate services as early as possible,” said Qiao.
“Depression is common among people facing cancer, but it is often under-recognized and undertreated,” said Fumiko Chin, radiation oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
