PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY – A PATIENT-FOCUSED APPROACH IN ONCOLOGIC PRACTICE

Abstract

One of the major psychological problems in oncologic practice is the one of personal reaction to the disease. The implementation of contemporary technologies and therapeutic treatment methods, the model changes during the discussion and interpretation of every clinic case being it either noso-centrist or multidisciplinary, give us sufficient grounds to select the patient-focused approach in oncologic practice in our country as a contemporary and indispensable. The increased percentage of diseased persons is parallel to the increased percentage of the cancer survivors. In our country the continuous monitoring and multi-disciplinary counseling of the dispensary patients where clinic psychologists participate is a sphere still far behind the world practices. Unfortunately, till now the accomplished psychological researches receive insufficient response in the clinic oncologic practice. In 2015 the first Manual for psycho-social support and rehabilitation in oncology was developed and published. Good psychooncology practices are being implemented with the start up of “Medical Oncology” Clinic and “Radiation Therapy” Unit at UMHAT “Heart and Brain” – city of Pleven.