The cancer mind needs treating

At the weekend I had a visit from my relations.

A dear friend of their mother is suffering with breast cancer. The story sounded very familiar a clinical approach but her doctors to her problem which largely ignored the psychology effects that the treatment of her treatment.

In my earlier blog postings I waxed lyrical to the point of tedium about the lack of psychology treatment to cancer people by those providing health related services. Those who go through cancer treatment are often in a process which is invariably poorly explained (though not in my case) and left to fend to themselves when it comes to dealing with the "post traumatic stress" of being told you could die from this!

The psychology effects are usually left to the third sector if they exist. In the case I heard about this weekend the hospital are doing a wonderful job fighting the effects of cancer but providing very little help in the mind journey that the patient has to undertake. I have a view that in some cases it is arrogance from the part of the clinician in some cases in is treating the process as a production line, but it in most cases it is not understanding the mental processes of those who are undertaking the treatment.

My Oncology Consultant was truly shocking in his understanding of my mental journey yet my surgeon was spot on. It is this inconsistency that I hear about on a weekly basis. I read of couples who split up after Cancer and the trauma it causes.

I am sad that 4 years on from my treatment the NHS are still struggling to support the mind as well as the body in this complex treatment.

Keep attacking !