Work

Perceptions About Care and Support Among Cancer Survivors With Severe Mental Health Conditions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Research on the attitudes and support received by cancer survivors with preexisting severe mental health conditions (SMHC) from their families and oncology professionals is lacking. AIMS: To explore how individuals with SMHC perceive and experience family and oncology team attitudes and care. METHODS: Participants were 25 cancer survivors, 6 men and 18 women, aged 26-86 with preexisting SMHC. The interpretive phenomenological approach and reflexive thematic analysis were used to capture participants' lived experiences. RESULTS: Two themes emerged: (a) "They don't take us seriously": perceived family attitudes and support; and (b) "It was basically like ice": perceived care from oncology professionals. From these two themes, a core typology was developed, exemplifying the parallel experience and perceptions of care of family members and oncology team: negative attitudes and inadequate support reported by most participants; receiving the essential but unemotional and detached care reported by some participants; and experiencing positive attitudes and adequate support expressed by a few. In some cases, following a cancer diagnosis, family members became more positive. Many participants experienced the oncology professionals' attitudes as affected by stigma and lack of attention to their unique situation. CONCLUSION: Oncology professionals should address survivors' needs for equality, dignity, humanity, and privacy in terms of care to improve their psychological well-being. In addition, family members supporting a patient with SMHC should receive sufficient information and tools to promote better care.

Source: Psycho-Oncology

DOI: 10.1002/pon.70117

Authors: Anat Vass, Marc Gelkopf, Adi Ivzori‐Erel, Mordechai Alperin, Hadass Goldblatt, Miri Cohen

Institutions: University of Haifa, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Clalit Health Services

Language: English

Topic: Cancer survivorship and care

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,940