Psycho-social care of patients with cancer is an integral part of modern oncology. Psychological care includes emotional support and care at the point of diagnosis, during cancer treatment, and after treatment is completed. There is the occasional need for comprehensive psychiatric assessment and medications to help with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Family members may also need help. Our team has worked over the past decade on various aspects of psycho-oncology.
Some patients with cancer are upset with the changes in their appearance. You may feel the pain felt by some of our patients from the short film created by Ms Rhea Daruvala based on a letter written by a patient to her oncologist.
Cancer journeys and disruptions to care
Cancer journeys are never easy, and in a country like India, patients and their families literally travel long distances fraught with many difficulties. In our collaborative research project with Kings College London, we studied access, affordability, and disruptions to cancer care. This publication can be accessed here.
Fig 1. Qualitative themes generated from the project on cancer journeys in India
Funding: Kings College London, Wellcome Trust, UK and Tata Medical Center, Kolkata
Psychological factors delaying presentation to oncologists in women with ovarian cancer
Women with ovarian cancer often present quite late at diagnosis. This is a global phenomenon. We explored adult attachment patterns and social factors associated with delay in presentation to oncologists for women with ovarian cancer. Our research showed that women from joint families and attachment anxiety had statistically significant delays in reaching oncologists in India. The full paper can be accessed here.
Funding: Tata Medical Center, Kolkata