A DIAGNOSIS of cancer is a deeply disturbing message for anyone to hear. The subsequent treatment can be tough to contemplate. Later still, even recovery – for the lucky – brings its own challenges, when one can feel like a patched-up car put back out on the road.
At any given time in the process, an individual might feel fear, anger or helplessness. There will be family and relationship issues to deal with. What does one tell the children? Which of our friends or colleagues do we tell? What sort of face do we put on it?
Intimacy, sexuality, even spirituality might come under pressure. Suddenly, one is thinking less about the coming weekend and more about the finiteness of life. And that’s before we come to the practical matters of work, sick leave, finances, mortgages, pensions, maybe even transport or shopping.
There is, in short, much to think about. Those with a family and a strong network of friends will doubtless find emotional succour and solidarity. But this experience will almost certainly be as new and bewildering to them as it is to the person diagnosed.
Whatever the case, the need for expert, objective and experienced advice from specialists in emotional health care and practical solutions to everyday problems would seem to be a sine qua non. It is surprising and disconcerting, therefore, to learn that, according to a new study by a leading mental health charity, half of cancer patients receive no such support throughout their treatment.
To be precise, 49 per cent of people interviewed by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) reported receiving no support or advice, while 66 per cent were not informed about potential emotional problems that might arise at the end of treatment.
On the face of it, this sounds like some kind of mistake. It sounds not so much like people are slipping through the net as that there is hardly much of a net in the first place. It sounds, not to put too fine a point on it, uncaring.
True, some sufferers might not want or appreciate counselling. Others might find the love of family and friends sufficient. But, even if one were coping well, it would be commonsensical to seek as much practical advice from an experienced expert as one could. It is also the case that, these days, many people don’t have the familial or social support structures that were common even just a few decades ago.
The point is that the option of mental health support should be there. Some people might pro-actively seek help from experienced organisations in the field. But others might not know what to do. Support, in all cases, should be offered. It should not have to be sought.
As in so many cases of large-scale public provision, it may be that there is a lack of collaboration and communication between service providers. In some cases, the best one might expect at hospital is a leaflet giving the contact number for a support group.
But, pointing out that cancer is “not just a physical illness”, the MHF has rightly called for tailored, one-to-one counselling for all cancer patients and for better support pathways after treatment.
Doubtless, even supposing this only involved better co-ordination or improved signposting of available services, funding pressures on an already hard-pressed NHS might arise. But support for cancer patients is a necessity, not a luxury. It shouldn’t be a case of newly diagnosed sufferers getting home from hospital and thinking, “Well, what do I do now?”
They will, of course, be given the best (and ever improving) medical treatment available. They should also be offered, in all cases, the best psychological help available after a diagnosis that even the boldest soul would find disturbing.
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