Psychosocial Care for Cancer Patients

[摘要] Due to advances in early detection and medical treatment of cancer in the past 3 decades as well as the increasingly higher life expectancy of the population, cancer incidence rates continue to rise worldwide [1]. As a consequence of these trends, an increasing number of people will require medical treatment for cancer, long-term surveillance, and palliative care in the future. Thus, cancer has turned into a life-threatening chronic condition for a large proportion of patients that poses new challenges for comprehensive cancer care. These include, among others, a change in the patient's role towards more active participation in treatment decisions and treatment itself depending on individual needs and expectations. Treatment may produce significant toxicities which cause substantial short- and long-term side effects, functional loss in various behavioral and life domains (physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and vocational), as well as psychosocial distress. Therefore, quality of life and functional status of the patients may be substantially reduced, and patients and their families are faced with many challenges in terms of coping and adjustment.

[学科分类] 泌尿医学