We often make note in these pages of the remarkable advances occurring in the realm of new oncologic therapeutics based on the burgeoning understanding of cancer biology. Although no one would argue about the importance of treating the cancer, we should always remember that the goal of treatment is to take care of the patient as a whole, working also to heal the emotional, psychological, and social upheaval that can follow a cancer diagnosis.
Indeed, that focus on the patient’s overall needs is now termed patient-centered care, and it is a fundamental attribute in approaching any therapeutic maneuver. No group of patients requires a more comprehensive approach to patient-centered care than do cancer patients. Faced with an existential crisis, huge costs of care, physical and psychological symptoms, and frequent and progressive loss of independence and function, it is no surprise that these patients— and their families—routinely suffer great psychosocial distress while battling the disease.
The Institute of Medicine’s 2007 report Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs was an attempt to categorize the challenges faced by cancer patients and the scope of available services for addressing those challenges at the local, regional, and national levels. I was privileged to serve on the committee that reviewed the evidence and formulated solutions to the problem. A number of recommendations arose from that report.
* For a PDF of the full article, click in the link to the left of this introduction.