Role of Health Psychology in the Care and Treatment of Patients with Cancer - Essay Example

? Role of Health Psychology in the care and treatment of patients with cancer Role of Health Psychology in the care and treatment of patients with cancer The major focus of health psychology is on the way social, psychological and biological factors affect illness and health. It is quite a new area since the society has turned out to be more concerned with being healthy and well; whether is regards food that is eaten, the way the bodies appear, or even how people feel. Due to this, we find that psychologists formed health psychology. Most health psychologists work on the best ways in promoting healthy living and preventing diseases or even how individuals reach psychologically on being diagnosed with a disease. The health psychologists are also normally interested in the attitude and personality of the patients to find out if it has a negative or positive effect on their health (Fawsy, et al, 1995). The area of health psychology has lately become involved deeply in physical illness and health that most medical centers now hiring primary care physicians and psychologists are more and more referring their clients to the psychologists as being of a more all-encompassing approach to the primary health care. Psychological problems can always be exacerbated or even created by cancer together with its treatments, and predate the disease. If these problems are not dealt with in a proper manner, then it might lead to unnecessary sufferings by the patient and their families, impede quality health care, and can also have potential effects on the course of the illness (Fawsy, et al, 1990). Social isolation together with some other social factors, frustrations, and mental health problems that are not attended to contribute greatly to emotional suffering and the incapability to accomplish valued social responsibilities, and interfere with the ability of the patient to conform to their treatment routines and act in some manners that promote their general health. In addition, these problems can result to changes in the operation of the immune, endocrine and some other organ systems of the body, which could consequently have implications for the cancer and other conditions’ course. Families as well as the larger community can also be affected seriously when the psychological problems are not sufficiently dealt with. Although it is very clear that psychological problems have influence on health, there is still evidence coming up on just how that happens. Furthermore, some problems such as poverty apparently can never be handled by the health care system. More so, there is evidence that plainly supports the necessity of attention concern to the psychological problems just as a critical part of a health system of good quality. The services of psychological health can help cancer patients, providers of health care and their families to optimize the biomedical health care, be able to manage the behavioral or psychological and the social aspects of the illness, thus promoting better health (Andersen, et al, 1994). Cancer diagnosis usually brings up one of the worst health fears of individuals. Most patients with cancer have the notion that it is their life’s end. Many changes in life in fact do occur. These begin from the diagnosis time, throughout the treatment period and then later all through their lives (Lyles, et al, 1982). It might be interesting to know that many studies cite the fact that many children and adults are psychologically resilient in bearing cancer. Whereas the struggles and problems that are experienced from the first cancer diagnosis, its treatments and the after effects, examine that resilience, it is important to know that many individuals do fairly well psychologically (Carey, 1988). By resilience, it does not mean that an individual is compelled to think in a positive manner all the time. For several years, the having of a positive attitude was strongly stressed as it was assumed that attitudes may have effects on survival. This belief is not without controversy, even though many studies demonstrate that having a positive attitude might be an added stressor (Burish, et al, 1991). For many, we find that a good strategy of coping is finding out as much information as possible regarding the particular cancer. Nonetheless, it is also important to establish two support teams, whereby the first is a comfort and support team, while the other is a psychosocial and medical team. The team for support comfort might be close friends of even a family (Greer, et al, 1992). The team of medical psychosocial may be composed of nurse practitioners, oncologists, a psychologist, surgeon, bedside nurses, a clergy, social worker and a psychiatrist. It is also important to have a close working relationship between the team members of the medical-psychosocial so as to coordinate treatment and to communicate and address the needs of a child or an adult all through the period of treatment (Antoni, et al, 2001). Psychologists who work with the cancer patients together with their families attempt to examine how well individuals have been in the past. They do not only take into consideration the weaknesses, but also strengths (Low, et al, 2010). They try working with the particular strengths so as to come up with good and compatible strategies of coping, assist patients in the development of skills of managing stress and also help them together with their families throughout these difficult moments. There are professionals that are well trained and have experience in assisting children, families and adults in coping with a cancer diagnosis (Andersen, 2002). Adjustment to cancer can always be a very difficult thing and probably one of the most depressing moments in life. There are professionals within this field of psychiatry and psychology that deal particularly with the patients of cancer and their families. However, this subspecialty is referred to as behavioral oncology, psychosocial oncology or psycho-oncology. The main concern of this field is behavioral, social and psychological aspects of cancer (Lane, & Viney, 2005). These experts are in a position of providing individualized support and education related to a particular cancer, the staging of cancer, and the expected treatment’s effects (Fawsy, et al, 1993). They normally work with the caretakers and families. Therapy is always best when its coordination is done between the several team members. Therefore, it is true that health psychology plays a very critical role in the treatment of cancer, as to some extent, it acts as an enhancer of the treatments. Psychologists are also important in the treatment of cancer patients as they closely work with them together with their families to ease the work or the whole process. References Antoni, M., Lehman, J., Kilbourn, K. et al (2001). Cognitive-behavioural stress management intervention decreases the prevalence of depression and enhances benefit finding among women under treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology, 20, 20-32. Andersen, B., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. & Glaser, R. (1994). 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Efficacy of relaxation tralning and guided imagery in reducing the aversiveness of cancer chemotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psycho1ogy, 50(4), 509-524. Read More