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Dr. Jimmie Holland Dr. Holland discusses the IOM report, "Cancer Care for the Whole Patient."
Runtime: 1 minute 30 seconds. |
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A diagnosis of cancer can be overwhelming. Ordinary concerns are often put on hold while important decisions are made and treatments begun -- treatments that can have a debilitating effect on an individual's mental and emotional health. What too frequently is overlooked during this chaotic time, both by patients and their doctors, is that quality cancer care must treat the cancer and address the patient's general well-being. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine proposes a new standard of care that integrates psychological and social support into routine care for people with cancer.
The Mental and Emotional Side Effects of Cancer
The psychological and social concerns of cancer patients include everything from an ongoing need for information about therapies and their resulting side effects to depression, stress, and the other mental and emotional conditions that can develop as a result of the traumatic upheavals associated with cancer treatment. These individuals may require assistance with daily activities that they can no longer perform independently, as well as with transportation, prosthetics, and medications to which they may not have easy access.
The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) report, entitled "Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs," recommends that all cancer care providers screen every cancer patient at their initial visit for signs of distress, then connect patients in need with health care providers who can treat this distress, periodically reevaluating patients to determine if any changes in care are required. Sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, of which the Institute of Medicine is a part, the report was based on the findings of a committee of experts, including Jimmie C. Holland, who holds the Wayne E. Chapman Chair in Psychiatric Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
"This report represents the first time that an organization which recommends health policy has recommended that the standard of care for cancer patients must include psychosocial care," Dr. Holland says. "This is important because, to date, most hospitals and clinics have equated cancer care with therapies used to treat cancer, excluding the mental and emotional needs of the patient being treated. This report provides a new level of credibility to this area since it confirms that there is strong evidence from the literature that psychosocial interventions are effective to help patients adhere to their treatments and reduce their distress."
