Meeting Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer

In Meeting Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer, the National Cancer PolicyBoard of the Institute of Medicine examines the psychosocial consequences of thecancer experience. The book focuses specifically on breast cancer in women becausethis group has the largest survivor population (over 2 million) and this disease is themost extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects. The bookcharacterizes the psychosocial consequences of a diagnosis of breast cancer, describespsychosocial services and how they are delivered, and evaluates their effectiveness. Itassesses the status of professional education and training and applied clinical andhealth services research and proposes policies to improve the quality of care andquality of life for women with breast cancer and their families. Because cancer of thebreast is likely a good model for cancer at other sites, recommendations for this cancershould be applicable to the psychosocial care provided generally to individualswith cancer. For breast cancer, and indeed probably for any cancer, the report findsthat psychosocial services can provide significant benefits in quality of life and successin coping with serious and life-threatening disease for patients and their families.