Study Focuses on What Cancer Patients Want in Support Groups

There are many support groups available for cancer patients, but very few of them actually join one. The reason could be that no one has ever asked the patients what they want to get from joining a group.

Medical professionals are prone to advise cancer patients to join groups that will help them deal with the psychological effects of their cancers. But this new study shows that the patients are not looking for that type of support. They would rather go some place where they would receive information about cancer and are not looking for the emotional support that these groups offer. The study also shows that the patient's needs will change over time.

The study was led by Allen Sherman, Ph.D. director of the Behavioral Medicine Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the questions were asked of 425 patients who have been diagnosed with many different types of cancers.

The results show that 65% said they would be interested in attending a group. This figure was higher than he expected it to be. Most of the participants said they want to be given information about their cancer either right after they are diagnosed or during treatment.

When they asked the patients what kind of information they wanted, 38% said they wanted medical information, 20% said they wanted emotional support and 30% said they wanted information on promoting wellness and better health.

There is one figure in the study that pertains to one part of the country more than any other. A high number, 82%, said that they would want a group to include discussion on spiritual issues. But the majority of this group comes from the Bible Belt, which is the south eastern quarter of the country where conservative Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a big part of the people's lives.

There is no evidence to support the fact that these groups have any effect in prolonging life, but they do show evidence of helping the patients improve the skills they need to cope with the disease and they also can improve the patient's mood.