A trio of related studies from the United Kingdom appearing in Lancet, Lancet Oncology, and Lancet Psychiatry reveals that nearly three-quarters of cancer patients who have major depression are not currently receiving any depression treatment. However, the studies also demonstrate that a program of integrated collaborative care is highly effective at reducing this co-occurring depression, even in cancer patients with a poor prognosis.
Editor's note:
Most studies of people with chronic illnesses of any kind, not just cancer, who are also suffering from depression benefit from psychotherapy and possible psychotropic medications. This isn't rocket science. These findings have been proliferating over the last decade. And yet mental health care often continues to be stigmatized and there are many other barriers to accessing treatment including insurance reimbursement even though studies also show that mental health care is very cost effective often decreasing the need for so many other medical services.
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