Mental Illness Affecting Half of Cancer Patients

A new report asserts that approximately half of all patients with terminal or advanced cancer suffer with poor mental health. Specifically, depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders plague people with advanced or terminal cancer, according to the results of a new study.

A research team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, examined previously published studies on cancer and mental health to determine how many cancer patients have mental health problems.

The researchers noted that cancer treatment has improved significantly over the past decade, yet mental health treatment has not been fully integrated into the treatment of cancer patients. They further asserted that studies have shown that depression and anxiety can impact patients' feelings and attitudes about life and death as well as their quality of life more than their physical illness.

While half of terminally ill or advanced cancer patients suffer from depression, anxiety, and/or an adjustment disorder, less than half of cancer patients receive treatment for their mental health, according to the researchers.

The researchers report that published studies show one-fifth of terminally ill cancer patients and more than one-third of advanced cancer patients suffer with an adjustment disorder. An adjustment disorder is characterized by feelings of anxiety and depression, which can be manifested in different ways. Some people with adjustment disorders isolate themselves. Others break social norms or rules at work, school, or within the family. Still others become physically ill or, if they are already ill, the illness may worsen with the adjustment disorder.