Cancer Patients Get Rx for Mental Health
The Indiana University Cancer Center now offers patients a clinic
that administers hope in tandem with treatment. While psychological
and social services long have been available to cancer center patients,
the new spring Psycho-Social-Oncology Clinic screens patients beginning
treatment to identify those with needs for social, psychological
or psychiatric services.
Currently patients with colon or gastroenterological cancers and
thoracic cancer are screened; later this year all IUCC patients
will have access to the screening process.
“Medical literature shows that physicians often do not recognize
the signs of depression and other mental health problems in cancer
patients, or tend to wait too long after diagnosis to refer patients
to mental health services,” says Caroline Carney Doebbeling,
MD, director of the new clinic. “Some problems are easily
solvable while others are not. Catching these problems early and
throughout the course of treatment diminishes distress and influences
the course of treatment.”
For more information about the Psycho-Social Oncology Clinic, call
(317) 278-2507.
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