Cancer and Mental Health: Exploring Interconnections and Role of Professional Social Workers

By statetimes_editor Last updated Sep 21, 2023

Mohd Manshoor Ahmed

Understanding the complicated connections between mental health and illness is essential to delivering comprehensive care to cancer patients and survivors. According to several studies, a 29% higher prevalence of mental diseases among cancer patients is rising. (Peng et al., 2019; Pilevarzadeh et al., 2019). Here are some crucial factors to think about:

Psychological Effects of a Cancer Diagnosis: Cancer can have a terrible emotional impact. Patients frequently struggle with worry, dread, sadness, and future uncertainty. Acute stress reactions may occur due to the overwhelming stress of a cancer diagnosis.
Mental health issues caused by treatment: Cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, can seriously affect mental health. These negative consequences, which can all lead to mental discomfort, may include weariness, pain, modifications to one’s body image, and cognitive deficits.
Quality of Life: A cancer patient’s general quality of life can be severely impacted by their mental health. Untreated psychological anguish may make it more challenging to follow treatment recommendations, affecting the prognosis and results
Survivorship Issues: Survivors may experience various psychological difficulties following cancer treatment. Long after the completion of therapy, anxieties about recurrence, body image, and the psychological effects of physical changes brought on by the treatment can still exist.
4Comorbidity: Patients with cancer are more likely to have concurrent mental health issues. The detection and treatment of cancer may cause preexisting or new conditions like sadness and anxiety.
4Supportive Care: Numerous healthcare facilities provide supportive care services because they understand how important mental health is in treating cancer. To address anxiety and depression, this can include counselling, support groups, and initiatives. The mental health of cancer patients can be enhanced by having these services in treatment.
Psychoneuroimmunology: This field of study examines how the immunological, neurological, and mental systems interact. Evidence suggests psychological health might affect the immune response, which may affect the course and results of cancer.
4Early detection and intervention: Spotting mental health problems early in the cancer journey is critical. The patient receiving the proper support and management can be helped by routinely screening for distress and mental health issues.
4Impact on Family and Caregivers: Understanding how cancer impacts the patient’s family and caregivers is essential. They might struggle with emotional discomfort and caregiver burnout, among other mental health issues.
Holistic Care: Comprehensive cancer treatment should adopt a holistic perspective, addressing the patient’s physical and mental health. This may result in increased treatment compliance, greater quality of life, and perhaps even better treatment.
Rural people’s mental health can be significantly impacted by cancer, and several factors play a role in this relationship:
Limited Access to Healthcare: Healthcare institutions and specialists are sometimes out of reach in rural locations. Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment can result from this, making patients fearful and anxious. Inadequate access to medical care can make people feel helpless, exacerbating mental health problems.
Isolation and Social Support: Populations in rural areas may be smaller, and fewer resources may be available for support services. Patients who live in remote locations could experience feelings of loneliness and have limited access to support networks or counsellors who specialise in cancer-related concerns. Feelings of isolation and despair might worsen when there isn’t enough social support.
Stigma and Cultural Factors: Cancer may be stigmatised in some rural communities. Due to this stigma, people may be discouraged from getting medical attention or discussing their diagnosis publicly. How cancer is viewed and treated may also be influenced by cultural and traditional beliefs, which could affect the results for mental health.
Financial Stress: Cancer treatment can be expensive, and those living in rural areas may not have access to as many financial resources or health insurance options. The cost of cancer treatment, including travel costs for in-city therapies, can cause great stress and anxiety.
Limited Educational Resources: Educational resources on cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment alternatives may not be widely available in rural areas. Lack of knowledge can cause misunderstandings and dread, harming mental health.
Transit issues: Reliable public transit is sometimes lacking in rural locations. Patients might experience access issues, which would increase their tension and worry.
Work and livelihood: Many rural populations rely on physically taxing occupations like farming or manual labour. Physical restrictions brought on by cancer and its treatment might make it difficult for a person to work and support their family. Financial stress and feelings of inadequacy may stem from this.
Mental Health Stigma: Besides having few mental health resources, rural locations may also be stigmatised for seeking mental health care. This may keep people from getting the mental health care they need, even after a cancer diagnosis. Coping Mechanisms: Rural communities frequently have distinctive coping strategies and social support systems. These can be helpful but might not always meet cancer patients’ emotional and psychological needs.
It’s critical to have initiatives that consider the particular difficulties rural communities face to lessen the negative effects of cancer on their mental health.
Telemedicine: Expanding telehealth services can improve access to cancer treatment and mental health support in rural locations.
Community-Based Support: Setting up neighbourhood support groups and community outreach initiatives can assist patients in getting in touch with people going through comparable struggles.
Culturally Tailored Interventions: Creating interventions honouring rural communities’ cultural values and beliefs can increase participation in and acceptance of mental health services.
Education and Awareness: Supporting cancer education and awareness programs can help dispel myths and prejudices, lowering fear and stigma in rural regions.
Financial Support: Receiving financial support or information on available resources can help reduce some financial strain related to cancer treatment.
Support at the workplace: Encouraging employers to provide flexible work schedules or accommodations for cancer patients can assist people in maintaining their livelihoods and lessen financial stress.
A comprehensive strategy that considers the special difficulties and resources these communities face is needed to address the mental health needs of rural populations dealing with cancer.
The Role of Professional Social Workers
To support and help cancer patients and their families throughout their cancer journey, professional social workers are essential. They play a varied function, providing emotional, practical, and psychosocial assistance in various ways.
The following are some of the primary duties performed by professional social workers who work with cancer patients:
Emotional Support: By being an empathetic and understanding presence, social workers offer emotional support to cancer patients. They assist patients in navigating the emotional difficulties brought on by receiving a cancer diagnosis by listening to their worries, fears, and anxieties.
Crisis Intervention: Social workers are competent at providing crisis intervention, which enables them to assist patients and their families in overcoming the initial shock of receiving a cancer diagnosis and any following crises that may develop during treatment or survivorship.
Evaluation and Counseling: Social workers do psychosocial needs assessments for cancer patients and offer counselling to help them deal with emotional anguish, sadness, anxiety, and adjustment problems. Patients who must decide about their end-of-life care may also receive bereavement counselling and support from them.
Social workers represent cancer patients to ensure they receive the proper medical attention and support services. They assist patients in navigating the healthcare system, comprehending their available treatments, and gaining access to the tools they need.
Education: Social workers provide information about the disease, available treatments, side effects, and selfcare techniques to cancer patients and their families. They support patients in making wise choices regarding their care.
Resource Coordination: Social workers help patients find local services like support groups, financial aid programs, transportation, and home healthcare. They assist patients in gaining access to these services to ease practical burdens.
Financial Counseling: Social workers help patients navigate family and cancer care, understand their insurance coverage, and find sources of financial support or assistance for medical bills.
Care Planning: Social workers work with the medical staff to create individualised care plans that consider each patient’s particular requirements and preferences. They make sure that the treatment approach takes psychological elements into account.
Support for Family and Caregivers: Cancer impacts the patient, family, and caregivers. Social workers offer services and support to help families deal with the difficulties and changes brought on by cancer.
End-of-Life Planning: Social workers offer end-of-life planning assistance to cancer patients nearing the end of their lives. This includes talking to patients and their families about advance directives, hospice care, and emotional support.
Advocacy for Vulnerable groups: Social workers may specialise in working with particular groups, such as elderly people, underserved communities, or children with cancer, and they may advocate for their special needs and difficulties.
Research and Policy Advocacy: Some social workers strive to advance systemic and individual cancer care policies and services through research and advocacy.
Social workers are educated to be culturally competent, recognise cancer patients’ backgrounds and beliefs, and adjust their care accordingly.

(The author is (Doctorate Purr.) AAPCSW, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Association for Clinical Oncology, USA and Director/Founder, Foundation for Sustainable Health Education and Environment, India).

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