Depression Health Article

Depression and embarrassment

Doctors and nurses can do a great deal to help a depressed person feel better. Being embarrassed can get in the way of the patient's getting help. While depression is a disease that happens to a minority of cancer patients, it does appear in a sizable number of these patients. Doctors and nurses are trained to deal with depression in cancer patients. If one out of eight people with cancer are depressed, it is no surprise to healthcare professionals that some patients require treatment for depression. It is not "bothering" a good health care professional to let them know that the patient is experiencing some symptoms that may signal depression. Competent doctors and nurses will not think less of a patient who is depressed. Rather, they will respect the patient who acknowledges the willingness to seek and accept treatment for depression. Cooperative patients are not those who hide depression but those who deal with depression when it appears. Dealing honestly and with the aid of doctors and allied healthcare professionals is the right way to address any cancer-related symptom.

How does depression affect someone who has cancer?

Depression is not something that can be pointed to, as one would point to a runny nose or an earache. That does not mean it is not real, nor does it mean the depression does not have a major effect on the cancer patient. The fact is that depression may not only affect what patients can do and how they feel, depression may also affect how well they function and how long they live.

A study of patients with acute leukemia who were receiving bone marrow transplantation found that those who were not depressed lived longer. A study of breast cancer patients showed that depression can be treated successfully and life extended. In this study, women with metastatic breast cancer who joined a support group lived twice as long as matched patients who did not join a support group. In light of these types of studies it would be incorrect to assume that depressed cancer patients who work with their doctors and nurses to treat their depression do not live as long as patients without depression.

Untreated depression or inadequately treated depression may slow recovery time. A study of depressed colorectal cancer patients found they were not able to function as well six months after surgery as patients who were not depressed. Another study found that breast cancer patients who were more anxious and depressed felt more pain than those who were not. Other studies have also shown that depression affects how people function and cope with illness.