Background
Many cancer survivors experience a long journey of navigating a number of mental health challenges. Mental health issues affect at least 30-35% of people with cancer during all phases of the disease trajectory and differ in nature according to stage and tumour stream. A smaller proportion (15-20%) of people with cancer may experience psychosocial challenges including demoralisation, health anxiety and loss of meaning, which may not be recognised as “disorders” but are nevertheless distressing and clinically relevant. Cancer survivors also experience high rates of trauma related to the experience of cancer and its treatments, and fear of cancer recurrence and disease progression. These challenges change throughout the cancer journey, and often include grief (e.g. due to an inability to return to previous employment), the long-term emotional effects of infertility and early menopause, and a sense of social isolation and desynchronisation from peers due to the above.
Once active cancer treatment has finished, it is the GP that most cancer survivors turn to for help adjusting to their new normal. General practitioners (GPs) provide holistic, person-centered care across a patient’s lifespan, and are uniquely placed to partner with cancer survivors to address these concerns. Yet, the ability of GPs to provide adequate mental health support to cancer survivors may be limited by provider and systems issues including lack of targeted mental health resources. This gap in cancer care is felt keenly by many cancer survivors and can lead to poorer mental health outcomes for them.
Objectives
This presentation presents a consumer perspective on the mental health burden in cancer survivorship, the role of the GP in addressing unmet needs, and highlights the need for systems level reform to affect meaningful change and empower GPs to partner with their patients to manage unmet mental health needs in survivorship.