Do You Know How Mental Health Affects The Evolution Of Cancer?
We are all aware of the damage to physical health that comes with having cancer. In fact, when diagnosed, a treatment plan is developed to cope with, attack, and, ideally, overcome it. But many times the importance of having a psychological well-being is not taken into account in the process.
Having a disease such as cancer can influence the development of other psychological pathologies. In this way, there is a higher prevalence of some psychological disorders and emotional distress over the general population. But what cancer-related factors play a role in mental health? Let’s see it!
Psychological disorders and cancer
Specifically, the fact of being hospitalized influences the appearance of adaptive disorders. It also influences that physical functioning is diminished as well as the feeling of becoming a burden for others. But not only that, the same happens with the initial adaptation to the treatments, the previous experience with stress and the perception of social support.
More specifically, in relation to depression, age or how advanced the disease is will play an important role . In addition to these, there are others such as physical sequelae of the treatment, a psychological history or low perceived social support.
There is also the risk of suicidal thoughts. This is influenced by the fact that the stage of the cancer is advanced and that its prognosis is poor. At the same time, the presence of depression, a feeling of helplessness, a lack of control, an increase in physical symptoms, a psychopathological history and a previous history of suicide attempts pose a risk.
Finally, it has been found that the prevalence of anxiety disorders is also higher. Being younger, having anxious tendencies or personal difficulties play a role in increasing the risk of suffering from an anxiety disorder. But so do physical factors such as the disease being in an advanced state, the treatment status, relapses, drug toxicity, or acute uncontrolled pain.
The importance of psychological well-being in cancer
Given that in cancer patients there is a real and high risk that their psychological health, in addition to their physical, deteriorates, it is important to be alert to the possible problems that they may present. It is frequent that, in addition to the aforementioned disorders, emotional discomfort or feelings of anxiety or sadness appear.
Now, how do these psychological problems affect the general health of these people? Actually, they become an added risk since they can be the direct cause of different physical complications. Depression, for example, leads to a decrease in healthy lifestyle habits and can lead to abandonment of treatment or non-compliance with it.
In general, these types of added difficulties may mean that patients require more medical services. Regarding cancer treatment, it affects their adherence to it. It can also lead to more difficulties when making decisions. On the other hand, there may be less satisfaction with medical care or an excessive demand for it.
Therefore, it is beneficial to be attentive to the mental health of people diagnosed with cancer. Before any warning sign in this regard, we recommend consulting a psychologist specialized in this area. Nobody better than to evaluate the patient and schedule a therapy with him to help him maintain strong mental health. Something that, as we have seen, will have a very positive influence on the prognosis of the cancer itself.
Specifically, the patient can be provided with active coping and change strategies. In this way, they will cope in a more adaptive way with all the emotionality that is generated in these situations and they will be able to regulate it better. This has been found to improve adherence to medical treatment, so that clinical evolution and, consequently, quality of life are improved with psychological intervention.
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