Anxiety and Depression in Adult Survivors of Cancer
Key Points
Key Points
- The psychological toll cancer takes on the growing population of survivors is often overlooked.
- Identification and treatment of cancer patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders, either pre existing or newly arising, remains imperative.
- Along with depression, anxiety is common among this population and continues to be an under addressed condition.
Table 1. Risk Factors for Anxiety and Depression in Cancer
- Advanced disease
- Intense or aggressive treatment(s); multiple treatments
- Higher symptom/side effect, adverse event burden
- Co-morbid medical conditions
- Few rehabilitative options
- Poor patient/doctor relationship
Personal
- Prior psychiatric history
- Past trauma history
- Helpless/hopeless outlook
- Low education level
- Low income
- Marital/interpersonal relationship conflict
- Younger age (<40)
Social
- Singleton (without marital or other partner)
- Limited social contacts
- Insufficient social support
- Limited access to service resources
- Socioenvironmental stressors
- Social stigma
Management
...1.0 General...
...1.1All patients with cancer and any patie...
...commendation 1.2Clinicians should use a stepped...
...tion 1.3Psychological and psychosoc...
...ation 1.4When making a referral for f...
...ndation 1.5For patients who have sympt...
...commendation 1.6For patients referred to an...
....7If pharmacologic treatment is used, the...
...on 1.8After 8 weeks of treatment for depre...
...2.0 Tre...
...ion 2.1For patients with moderate...
...2.2For a patient with moderate sym...
...n 2.3For a patient with severe sympt...
...endation 2.4Treating clinicians may offer a p...
...3.0 Trea...
....1For patients with moderate to se...
....2For a patient with moderate sympto...
Recommendation 3.3For a patient with se...
...mmendation 3.4Treating clinicians may offer a phar...
Figure 1. Screening and Assessment — Depressi...
...are Map — Depression in Adults W...
...creening and Assessment — Anxiety in Adults W...
...igure 4. Care Map — Generalized Anxi...
...at cancer clinical trials are vital to inf...