Tag: cancer

Reading of the Week: Cancer & Suicide & Good News – the New Transl Psychiatry Study; Also, AI & Therapy Dropouts, and Bland on Her Father & His D-Day

June 13, 2024 /

From the Editor

He was so overwhelmed by the cancer diagnosis that he didn’t eat or sleep for days. “It was my worst nightmare.” My patient isn’t alone in that devastating experience, of course – the diagnosis and treatment of cancer is a major life event. Not surprisingly, the suicide rate is roughly double that of the general population in the United States. But with increasing psychosocial interventions, how has this changed over time?

In the first selection, Qiang Liu (of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question in a new paper for Translational Psychiatry. Drawing on 40 years of data and a major US database, they analyzed the journeys of five million cancer patients, discovering good news. “We revealed a gradual increase in cancer-related suicide rates from 1975 to 1989, followed by a gradual decrease from 1989 to 2013, and a marked decrease from 2013 to 2017.” Indeed, between 2013 and 2017, the rate dropped by 27%. We consider the paper and its implications.

In the second selection, Sakiko Yasukawa (of the Sony Corporation) and her co-authors aimed to reduce dropouts from psychotherapy using AI. In a new paper for BMJ Mental Health, they describe an RCT involving 149 people. “The results suggest that the personalised messages sent by the chatbot helped participants control their pace in attending lessons and improve programme adherence without human guidance.”

Last week marked the anniversary of D-Day with ceremonies, including in Normandy. What was the toll on those who returned home? In the third selection, an essay published in The Globe and Mail, Normanne Bland describes her father and his time in Europe. She writes about him with mixed feelings, coloured by his mental health problems, including PTSD. “I had a complicated relationship with my father. I was proud of his service but I loathed his drinking.”

There will be no Reading next week.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cancer & Suicide – the New Nature Medicine Paper; Also, Dr. Natasha Steele on Her Cancer (NEJM)

April 7, 2022 /

From the Editor

The big diagnosis. Even years after the fact and even in cases of good outcomes, so many still remember the exact moment when they were told that they had cancer. A patient once recalled with great detail the floor tiles in his doctor’s office (he couldn’t bear looking at his spouse or his doctor). He also remembered feeling so overwhelmed that suicide seemed like an option.

But what is the risk of suicide? In the first selection, Michael Heinrich (of the University of Regensburg) and his co-authors seek to answer that question, drawing on an impressive number of studies including more than 22 million patients. In a new paper for Nature Medicine, they report on a systematic review and meta-analysis; they found that “patients with cancer have an almost twofold increased risk of dying by suicide compared with the general population.” They write: “Despite immense progress in cancer therapy and prognosis in the past decades, suicide remains an important cause of death in patients with cancer.” We consider the paper and its clinical implications.

In the second selection, Dr. Natasha Z. Rabinowitz Steele (of Stanford University) considers her experiences in a New England Journal of Medicine paper. She writes about her cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the impact on her clinical work. She concludes: “Though all of our journeys will have beginnings and endings, our lives are what we choose to do with the precious, unpredictable, terrifying, and beautiful moments in between.”

DG


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Reading of the Week: Alcohol – with Papers from Lancet Oncology and CJP, and Coverage from NYT

July 22, 2021 /

From the Editor

This week, we focus on alcohol, with two papers and a news article. Obviously, alcohol isn’t new – distilling probably started in the 13th century – but the three selections offer fresh and important information that is clinically relevant.

In the first selection, we consider the link to cancer. In a new Lancet Oncology paper, Harriet Rumgay (of the International Agency for Research on Cancer) and her co-authors conduct a population-based study. “Globally, about 741 000, or 4.1%, of all new cases of cancer in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption.” We review the big paper and mull its clinical implications.

alcohol

In the second selection, Dr. Daniel Myran (of the University of Ottawa) and his co-authors look at ED visits due to alcohol. Drawing on administrative data, they write: “We found that that current patterns and temporal trends in ED visits due to alcohol show large disparities between urban and rural regions of Canada and by socioeconomic status.”

And in the third selection, reporter Anahad O’Connor writes about alcohol use disorder for The New York Times. In this highly readable article, he focuses on the struggles of a retired manager: “But this past winter, with the stress of the pandemic increasingly weighing on him, he found himself craving beer every morning, drinking in his car and polishing off two liters of Scotch a week.” O’Connor writes about several resources that may be helpful to patients and their families.

DG

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Reading of the Week: More Sleep, Fewer Suicidal Thoughts? New AJP Paper; Also, Is Depression like Cancer (NYT)? Admissions & Ethnic Minorities (EPS)

October 24, 2019 /

From the Editor

Can a sleep intervention reduce suicidal thoughts in those with depression and insomnia?

When seeing people with depression, we often tend to focus on the Big Problem: that is, the major depressive disorder itself. But should we also consider trying to provide early symptomatic relief, with, say, a sleep medication?

In the first selection, we look at a new paper from The American Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. William V. McCall of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and his co-authors write about the REST-IT study, a randomized controlled trial of zolpidem-CR for those with MDD and insomnia. “The results do not support the routine prescription of hypnotic medication for mitigating suicidal ideation in all depressed outpatients with insomnia…”

sleeping-babySleeping Like a Baby: Fewer Suicidal Thoughts?

In the second selection, the University of Western Ontario’s Rebecca Rodrigues and her co-authors consider involuntary psychiatric admissions and ethnic minority groups in the context of early psychosis. Spoiler alert: “African and Caribbean groups were the most likely to experience an involuntary admission…”

And in the third selection, phyisician Jill Halper wonders: is depression like cancer? “My rabbi said that my husband, like a dying cancer patient, had been in hospice care. We just didn’t realize it.”

DG

 

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Reading of the Week: Cancer and Suicide – the New JAMA Psychiatry Paper

April 11, 2019 /

From the Editor

When I worked closely with cancer patients, we would often speak of that moment – the moment they were diagnosed, when they officially became cancer patients. Many recalled their first emotions: the disbelief, the shock, the anger. A few could even tell me sparkling details, like the way the doctor looked at them or what she was wearing. And, for all, that moment had been life altering.

That moment is followed by challenges, and for some, depression and even suicide.

What is the risk of suicide after the cancer diagnosis? In this week’s Reading, we look at a new JAMA Psychiatry paper. Drawing on English data, and involving 4.7 million people, Public Health England’s Katherine Henson and her co-authors look at cancer and suicide. They find: “Despite low absolute numbers, the elevated risk of suicide in patients with certain cancers is a concern, representing potentially preventable deaths.”

popepaintingBig diagnosis, big risk?

In this Reading, we consider the paper on this important topic, as well as an editorial.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Do Patients with Cancer Struggle with PTSD? Yes – the new Cancer Paper. Also, Quebec Covers Therapy

December 7, 2017 /

From the Editor

I spent a dozen years working at a community hospital. One of my richest experiences was working with cancer patients and their families. For so many patients, not surprisingly, cancer isn’t just a physical illness, but a psychiatric one, too – patients often experience depression and anxiety.

How common is PTSD in cancer patients? Surprisingly little work has been done in the area. In this week’s Reading, we look at a new study that considers PTSD and cancer. The study is particularly impressive in that patients were followed for years after diagnosis.

Big diagnosis, big treatment, big psychiatric problems?

In this Reading, we consider the paper and its findings.

And, with an eye on treatment for those with or without cancer, we consider a good news story: on Sunday, the Quebec government committed itself to cover psychotherapy for those with depression and anxiety in the public system.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cancer and Mental Illness

May 19, 2016 /

From the Editor

“Now that I’m done with my [cancer] treatment, I’m struggling to figure out who I am,” writes essayist Suleika Jaouad.

This week’s Reading focuses on cancer and mental illness.

We open with a major new paper just published by JAMA Oncology (involving hundreds of thousands of cancer patients) and we then consider an essay by Suleika Jaouad talking about how cancer affected her physical and mental health.

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