What is Psycho-Oncology?
Cancer, one of the most common diseases of our age, requires a treatment process that creates various physiological, psychological and social difficulties for both the patient and his relatives. The treatment process may consist of steps such as surgical intervention / radiotherapy / chemotherapy / drug therapy and usually has a long course.
It is often inevitable that negative emotions come to the surface in a patient diagnosed with cancer. Affections such as anxiety, fear, and worry are triggered and the person often feels anger when it is difficult to cope with them. Although cancer error varies from person to person depending on the characteristics of the treatment plan applied, it generally directly affects the flow of the patient’s daily life, functionality, professional life, family life, sexual life, diet, relationships and social life. In addition, the person often experiences significant physical changes and losses (hair loss, some functional losses due to side effects of treatment, etc.). Therefore, it is not always easy for the person to accept these changes and to adapt to the treatment. How the diagnosis is received by the patient, what kind of emotions it triggers in the person, and what it activates in the inner world varies from patient to patient. The developmental history of the person, the strength of his / her emotional ties, the strength of his / her internal resources, and the sources of psycho-social support play a decisive role in the person’s acceptance of the diagnosis, meeting the disease and the treatment process. Psychiatric symptoms / disorders occurring at some stage of diagnosis, treatment and course necessarily need to be handled together with pre-morbid personality traits. However, apart from this, many psychological difficulties that develop reactively only depending on the disease and treatment are experienced and result in a psychiatric disorder in the process.
Studies on psychiatric disorders that occur in cancer patients show that depression, anxiety disorder, major depression, organic brain syndrome and personality disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in cancer patients. The person may unconsciously react to the diagnosis of cancer with the symptoms of depression or anxiety disorder, as well as by developing more primitive defense mechanisms. Meeting the person with life-threatening situations can cause devastating mental consequences by triggering early archaic fears of extinction in infancy, and some personality disorders and pictures showing psychotic characteristics can be seen. Considering all this, psychological support is an integral part of cancer treatment.
Treatment of cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach and teamwork. Psycho-oncology has gradually gained importance with the advances in cancer treatment and has become a part of the treatment process. The psychological effects of cancer on the patient, patient relatives and even the treatment team, the effect of psychological support on the treatment and recovery of psychological factors are subjects within the scope of psycho-oncology.
The psycho-social aspect of cancer treatment in our country is generally lacking. The main reason for this is that cancer diagnosis is mostly hidden from the patient (and from time to time some relatives). This situation causes a bilateral denial and neglect by both the patient and their relatives, making it impossible to study the psychological dynamics of the person and their relatives that develop depending on the diagnosis. However, studies have found that the ability to talk about the illness, express their feelings and share the difficulties experienced contributes positively to coping with cancer and provides a spiritual relief by reducing the emotional burden of the patient. However, of course, the mental dynamics of each patient are unique and different from each other. If the person is not ready to face the disease and ignores this situation, this is an unconscious choice, and the patient’s defense mechanisms must be respected. The aim is not to destroy the patient’s defense mechanisms in a destructive way or to traumatize the person with heavy confrontations. Psychological support, which includes talking about the diagnosis and treatment process, will of course be functional and meaningful with patients who want to receive this support.
In addition, the psychological complications caused by the disease and the treatment process cause the patient to have difficulty in adapting to the treatment and may impair the quality of life and relationships, as well as negatively affect the course of the disease and the response to treatment. Researches; It shows that people who are mentally resilient, who have strong social support, who are healthy and have strong family ties accept the diagnosis more easily and respond more positively to treatment. It is observed that patients who continue their daily routine (business life if possible) and who do not disconnect from social life spend the treatment process more easily and this situation positively reflects on the improvement.
In order to increase the psychosocial adaptation of cancer patients and to strengthen their coping skills, individual psychotherapies are carried out or sharing groups are formed in health institutions. The general aim is to increase the patient’s morale, self-confidence and coping ability, and to reduce distress and mental problems. The way to do this is to create a space in the therapy room or sharing group where the patient can freely express their feelings such as anger, anger, anxiety, fear, and guilt, and express their thoughts and feelings about the disease. It has been observed that sharing the experiences and feelings of the patient with other people who have gone through similar processes with him has positive effects on recovery.
The psychological support provided to cancer patients in institutions aims both to increase the psychological and social adaptation of the person to the disease and to strengthen the dialogue between the patient and the family and social interaction areas. Considering that cancer is a family disease, relatives of the patient often need psychological support and receive therapy support in family structures where the relationships are balanced, conflicts are less, feelings and thoughts are freely expressed and accepted, and cooperation is strong. It is observed that patients and families, supported by a holistic approach, struggle with the treatment process more easily, and this situation positively reflects on the improvement.
