MedifocusHealth

The diagnosis of any type of cancer is a frightening, life-altering event for both the patient and their family. The potential for a diminished quality of life for newly diagnosed cancer patients becomes an immediate, pressing concern when confronted with anxiety, fear, pain, the prospect of a long course of treatments that may cause significant side effects, and the possibility that the treatments may not work. It is critically important, however, for cancer patients and their families to address and learn to cope with the physical, emotional, and social issues that, if ignored and left to "fester", can rapidly lead to a significantly reduced quality of life.

Over the years, cancer specialists and other allied health-care professionals have come to realize that addressing a cancer patient's quality of life issues is an integral component of a comprehensive, overall cancer treatment strategy. From a practical perspective, that means developing an effective treatment plan that aims not only to control and/or to eradicate the patient's cancer with medical and/or surgical therapy but, at the same time, also takes into consideration critical issues of supportive care throughout the course of treatment and offers the patient the best chances of maintaining a reasonably high level quality of life. In fact, most cancer specialists now consider supportive care as an essential component of an overall, effective cancer treatment plan.