Anxiety in Cancer Patients

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how, once individuals are diagnosed with a chronic disease or illness, every aspect of their lives change. The paper examines how professionals working with the chronically ill need to gain an understanding of the dynamics of how their patient's lives are impacted by the disease and how the patient is coping with the emotional and behavioral changes caused by the disease. The paper analyzes the emotional and behavioral changes caused by cancer, as they relate to the onset of anxiety in the patient. The paper further analyzes how the emotional, behavioral, and physical manifestations of the illness directly affect the patient's ability to cope, the quality of life, and the manner in which the illness affects family and social relationships.

Outline:
Introduction
Review of the Literature
Discussion
References

From the Paper:

"The main issue that must be dealt with here is whether physicians and others in the medical and mental health fields are doing enough to ensure that patients that must deal with cancer get the best care possible for all of their needs. As has been mentioned, physicians often look only at the physical aspects of the disease and therefore they do not do enough to study and help the emotional and behavioral issues that may also come along with these types of illnesses, such as anxiety stemming from the diagnosis and the worry that comes along with that diagnosis. When someone has an illness that can be cured, the suffering from it and the problems that they face with it are usually relatively short-lived and overall these kinds of illnesses do not contribute to long-term pain and significant anxiety problems."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, B. L. (2002). Biobehavioral outcomes following psychological interventions for cancer patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(3), 590-610.
• Brannon, L., & Fiest, J. (2004). Health Psychology: Vol. 2. An Introduction to Behavior and Health (Fifth ed.) Belmont CA: Thompson/Wadsworth.
• DiMatteo, M. (2004). Social support and patient adherence to medical treatment: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 23(2), 207-218.
• Eitel, P., Hatchett, L., Friend, R., Griffin, K. W., & Wadhwa, N. K. (1995). Burden of self-care in seriously ill patients impact on adjustment. Health Psychology, 14(5), 457-463.
• Emery, C. F., Shermer, R. L., Hauck, E. R., Hsiao, E. T., & MacIntyre, N. R. (2003). Cognitive and psychological outcomes of exercise in a 1-year follow-up study of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Health Psychology, 22(6), 598-604.

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