Depression in Cancer Care

Mindfulness for depression management in men with prostate cancer

ABSTRACT

Increasing incidence and survival rates of prostate cancer are leaving more men to suffer the sequelae of their diagnosis and treatment, like depression. Depression and other negative psychosocial factors significantly affect this population but often go undiagnosed and/or ineffectively managed. This case report focuses on the negative effects of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment, the importance of screening these patients for depression, and the exploration of mindfulness as an adjunctive management option for this population.

Advanced Adrenocortical Carcinoma: From Symptoms Control to Palliative Care

The prognosis of patients with advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is often poor: in the case of metastatic disease, five-year survival is reduced. Advanced disease is not a non-curable disease and, in referral centers, the multidisciplinary approach is the standard of care: if a shared decision regarding several treatments is available, including the correct timing for the performance of each one, overall survival is increased. However, many patients with advanced ACC experience severe psychological and physical symptoms secondary to the disease and the cancer treatments. These symptoms, combined with existential issues, debase the quality of the remaining life. Recent strong evidence from cancer research supports the early integration of palliative care principles and skills into the advanced cancer patient's trajectory, even when asymptomatic. A patient with ACC risks quickly suffering from symptoms/effects alongside the disease; therefore, early palliative care, in some cases concurrent with oncological treatment (simultaneous care), is suggested. The aims of this paper are to review current, advanced ACC approaches, highlight appropriate forms of ACC symptom management and suggest when and how palliative care can be incorporated into the ACC standard of care.