Cancer patients suffering from psychological distress underwent conventional verbal interaction and a single intensive drug-assisted therapy session employing dipropyltriptamine (DPT), a short-acting psychedelic drug. Analysis indicates quality of life was enhanced. Relative merits of DPT in comparison with LSD and needs to pursue controlled…

In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between autobiographical memory and the onset and maintenance of distressing memories following cancer. In Study 1, participants recently diagnosed with head, neck, or lung cancer were assessed for acute stress disorder (ASD). Participants with ASD reported fewer specific memories than did…

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scores yielded significant discriminations between cancer and noncancer groups. The group with cancer was significantly separated from the noncancer group on the basis of lower scores on Byrne's Repression-Sensitization scale (greater repression) and on the Depression scale of the MMPI (less…

This study examined associations between couple communication about cancer and psychological distress and relationship satisfaction of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. One hundred forty-eight couples completed a videotaped discussion of a cancer-related issue and a general issue. Patients completed measures of psychological distress…

The authors prospectively tested the hypothesis that emotional expressivity would moderate the predictive relationship between patient neuroticism and spousal constraints among 120 individuals with cancer. The authors also examined whether patient gender further moderated the hypothesized relationships. After we controlled for Time 1 constraints,…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

Depression at the end of life is a common mental health issue with serious implications for quality of life and decision making. This study investigated the reliability and validity of one of the most frequently used measures of depression, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) in 422 patients with terminal cancer admitted to a palliative…

Recounts the history of cancer treatment to illustrate the long-standing tradition of a holistic approach to the investigation and treatment of cancer, discusses the growing emphasis on holistic cancer treatment and the importance of counseling in such treatment. (Author)

Cancer diagnosis affects the psychological well-being of both patients and their partners, and effective coping has been suggested to be a conjoint process of mutual support. Ninety-four married women with early stage cancer and their partners were randomly assigned to couples-based coping training (CanCOPE), individual coping training for the…

In recent years there has been increased focus on evaluating the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for cancer patients. Among the several limitations inherent to these programs of research, few studies have targeted patients with well-diagnosed clinical depression and little is known about factors that best predict treatment outcome and…

Examined utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as a longitudinal predictor of psychosocial adaptation to cancer. A post hoc discriminant analysis revealed that 75% of all patients could have been correctly classified into a high-distressed v a low-distressed cancer patient group using only the MMPI. (Author)

Data from 83 families with schoolage children in which a parent had died of cancer during the preceding 19 months indicate that the child's perception of the surviving parent's openness in parental communication was found to be significantly correlated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and state anxiety in the children. (SLD)

This study examined the relationship of catastrophizing to fatigue in 80 women receiving chemotherapy (CT) or radiotherapy (RT) for treatment of early stage breast cancer. Findings revealed expected relationships between catastrophizing and fatigue among women receiving RT but not CT. Among RT patients, those high in catastrophizing reported…

Objective: To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and benefit of fluvoxamine for the treatment of major depressive disorder or anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with cancer. Method: The study was conducted from 2001 to 2004 at a pediatric hematology-oncology center. Fifteen children and adolescents with cancer were treated with…

Presents several research studies which investigate how emotional and psychological factors relate to the risk of getting cancer. The need for bringing psychologists, psychotherapists, biochemists and other specialists in team efforts to investigate psychosomatic aspects of cancer is recommended. (HM)