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Psychological Support

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Radiation Oncology

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Abstract

Psycho-oncology is a well-established specialty in oncology that provides psychosocial support to cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. It supports them throughout the cancer treatment and the life after. Experiencing distress, anxiety, or depressive symptoms is a reasonable and common reaction to receiving a cancer diagnosis and undergoing treatment. The symptom levels vary from person to person and intraindividually from one point in time to another. Also, some medical treatments, including radiation, may directly affect patients’ psychological well-being. In order to support patients and caregivers adequately, their psychosocial needs must be assessed. Most patients’ and caregivers’ psychological strain does not meet the criteria of a mental disorder. Nonetheless, psycho-oncological support can be highly important and beneficial. Psycho-oncological interventions include psycho-oncological counseling, various settings of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and relaxation techniques – all of which have been shown to effectively reduce patients’ and caregivers’ distress and other signs of strain. Healthcare professionals’ communication with patients and caregivers provides an additional starting point, affecting how lonely or supported patients and caregivers feel in facing their illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center, Berlin, Germany

    Amy Rohrmoser & Ute Goerling

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  1. Amy Rohrmoser
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  2. Ute Goerling
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Correspondence to Ute Goerling .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

    Frederik Wenz

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Rohrmoser, A., Goerling, U. (2019). Psychological Support. In: Wenz, F. (eds) Radiation Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52619-5_114-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52619-5_114-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52619-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52619-5

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