cancer patients have an increased risk of depression

the first 12 months following a cancer diagnosis are crucial for a patient's mental health.

by maija kappler

published apr 04, 2022

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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cancer patients have an increased risk of depression

services for mental health are necessary during and after a cancer diagnosis. getty

content warning: this story contains reference to suicidal ideation. if you are in need of support, the canadian suicide prevention service helpline offers help and can be reached at 1-833-456-4566. mental health care needs to be prioritized in people with cancer, according to several new studies. in addition to all of the physical pain and discomfort that accompanies their illness, it’s now evident that cancer patients are also more likely than the general population to develop anxiety and depression.

one, published in the journal nature on march 28, was a review of 28 previous studies of cancer patients worldwide. in examining more than 22 million people with cancer, researchers found that the suicide rate was 85 per cent higher for people with cancer than people without. the rates were highest for the most severe cancers (stomach, pancreas) and lower for the ones with higher survival rates (nonmetastatic melanoma, testicular cancer).

location also played an important part: people in the u.s. were much more likely to attempt or complete suicide than people in europe, asia or australia. higher health-care costs and easy access to firearms in the u.s. were possible explanations, researchers suggested.

clearly, services for mental health are necessary from the time of a cancer diagnosis, dr. corinna seliger-behme, a neurologist at germany’s heidelberg university and a co-author of the study, told the new york times.

“probably, we can prevent suicide if we talk about it, and if we really start that early,” she said.

the other study, also published march 28 in nature, looked at 460,000 people in britain who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1998 and 2020. they looked at people with 26 different cancers, and screened for five psychiatric illnesses — depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders — that had been diagnosed after their cancer.

they found that depression was the most common of these illnesses, with anxiety close behind. they also found that self-harm was most likely in people with brain tumours, prostate cancer, hodgkin’s lymphoma, testicular cancer and melanoma.

it can often be hard for both patients and doctors to focus on or even recognize mental illness in the face of a cancer diagnosis, researchers said.

“cancer management often overshadows the recognition and treatment of psychiatric disorders,” the study said. “patients with preexisting mental health conditions may be prone to relapse during their cancer journey, whereas individuals without a history of mental health may face competing demands from their cancer that could distract physicians from recognizing and diagnosing psychiatric disorders.”

treatment itself may also be a trigger. mental illness was highest in patients who received chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. all of these treatments tend to be long, physically gruelling, and come with a number of painful and unpleasant side effects.

alvina lai of university college london, one of the study’s co-authors, told the new york times that the data points to the fact that it could be helpful for patients to get more information about their treatments in advance.

“it would be so useful for cancer patients who are newly diagnosed to see what the data tell us and make an informed decision,” she told the paper.

this study, too, found that getting mental health treatment early can be a game-changer. a central factor that predicted psychiatric distress was time. accepting the illness, and dealing with its treatment, can be exceedingly difficult: the highest risk of self-harm was within 12 months of diagnosis.

“cancer leaves permanent pathological alterations that imprint on people’s lives even when signs of active disease are no longer present,” the study says.

if you’re thinking about suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, please contact the canada suicide prevention service at 1.833.456.4566 toll free or connect via text at 45645, from 4 p.m. to midnight et.