Journal article extract: Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16 December 2020
Louise Moodie, Gabriela Ilie, Robert Rutledge, Pantelis Andreou and Susan Kirkland
“Taken together with other recent reports in the literature, the results of this study point to a need that is currently unacknowledged and unaddressed in prostate cancer survivorship care plans throughout Canada. Leaving mental health needs unattended leads to poor quality of life among prostate cancer survivors, poor oncological outcomes, and could potentially burden health care systems. In light of the current and recent studies, the necessity of assessing patients’ needs as they emerge after the diagnosis and treatment, understanding the role treatment modalities play in their development, and creating survivorship care plans that address these needs including earlier interventions in the form of pre-habilitation as well as survivorship programs is evident. Results observed here, point to the need to develop multidisciplinary survivorship care teams that include mental health care experts who can diagnose and treat patients and survivors in need of mental health support. They also point to the need to develop patient education and empowerment interventions for programs and survivors that address directly their psychosocial oncological needs, including, but not limited to, unmet emotional needs (e.g., loss of sexual function and unmet intimacy needs), social isolation, and lack of social support. Results here indicate that preventative efforts to reduce the mental health burden during prostate cancer survivorship are warranted.”
Facing the Tiger 