DESIGNATED CANCER centres need to provide increased psychological support to patients, the Irish Cancer Society has said.
The society, which held a national breast cancer conference in Dublin on Saturday, stressed the need for cancer centres to offer dedicated psycho-oncology services to recognise and treat distress in cancer patients.
Annette Stanton, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the conference: "The need for psychological assessment and management is vital not only during diagnosis and treatment, but across the cancer trajectory."
She said cancer survivors are often confronted with lingering physical, psychological and interpersonal challenges, so it is important for them to receive support also. "Research has shown that women who receive psychological support report less distress, better health, more vigour, less medical visits and a better quality of life," she said.
People with cancer diagnosis were 3.5 times more likely to have depressive symptoms, she said, adding "cancer is more likely to cause depressive symptoms than any other disease".
Olwyn Ryan, patient support groups manager for the Irish Cancer Society, said "a diagnosis of cancer has the potential to result in marked psycho-social distress and life disruption".
While many patients cope well, a high proportion develop significant psychological distress, she said. Ms Ryan added that while some hospitals which cater for large volumes of cancer patients provide psycho-oncology services, most services are usually unstructured and under-resourced.
"People are expected to get back to normal after cancer treatment but they can't, thus psychological support is a vital part of the care," according to Naomi Fitzgibbon of the Irish Cancer Society.
With the number of people being diagnosed with cancer on the rise, the need to provide psychological support is increasing also, she said.
Irish women have a one in 11 chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer, with six women diagnosed every day.