Interventions for reducing suicide risk in cancer patients: A literature review

The suicide risk of people diagnosed with cancer is two times higher than the general population. The number of cases of diagnosed cancer is estimated to rise by 70% over the next two decades. Evidence-based prevention strategies are necessary to protect this vulnerable group of individuals. The purpose of this review was to find out the risk factors of suicide and which types of interventions can serve as prevention strategies. Psychosocial interventions, pharmacotherapy and physical activity can play a preventive role in reducing psychosocial and physical risk factors, such as mental disorders, poor social support, poor performance status and pain. Further research is needed to develop effective suicide prevention strategies for cancer patients

Individualios į prasmę orientuotos psichoterapijos taikymas paliatyviems onkologiniams pacientams Lietuvoje

Patients with oncological diseases, especially palliative care patients, suffer from physical and psychological difficulties. The quality of life of such patients is bad, they do not have purpose to live and they feel anxiety and distress. In 1959 Victor Frankl wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning in which he stated that the driving force of human life lay in the ability to discern the meaning of faith and spirituality. Inspired by Frankl’s ideas, the American psychiatrist William Breitbart with colleagues have developed both an individual and group model of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy. Studies show that this therapy helps patients to cope with distress, to discover the meaning of life in palliative care patients, and to find the strength to look at life positively; also, it relieves the symptoms of illness. The Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy is integrated in various countries and has recently been initiated for palliative patients in Lithuania. The individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy was used in the case reviewed in this paper

The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patient’s management Lithuanian cancer center experience

The pandemic spread of the COVID-19 virus significantly affected daily life, but the highest pressure was piled on the health care system. Our aim was to evaluate an impact of COVID-19 pandemic management measures on cancer services at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of Lithuania. We assessed the time period from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020 and compared it to the same period of 2019. Data for our analysis were extracted from the NCI Hospital Information System (HIS) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Contingency table analysis and ANOVA were performed. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the cancer services provided by NCI. Reductions in diagnostic radiology (−16%) and endoscopy (−29%) procedures were accompanied by a decreased number of patients with ongoing medical (−30%), radiation (−6%) or surgical (−10%) treatment. The changes in the number of newly diagnosed cancer patients were dependent on tumor type and disease stage, showing a rise in advanced disease at diagnosis already during the early period of the first lockdown. The extent of out-patient consultations (−14%) and disease follow-up visits (−16%) was also affected by the pandemic, and only referrals to psychological/psychiatric counselling were increased. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the structure of cancer services by fostering the application of modified systemic anticancer therapy or hypofractionated radiotherapy. The most dramatic drop occurred in the number of patients participating in cancer prevention programs; the loss was 25% for colon cancer and 62% for breast cancer screening. Marked restriction in access to preventive cancer screening and overall reduction of the whole spectrum of cancer services may negatively affect cancer survival measures in the nearest future. Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; cancer management; national lockdown