(HealthDay News) — One out of three people diagnosed with cancer also wind up struggling with a mental health disorder such as anxiety or depression, a new study from Germany reports.
Many people seem to cope with the natural stress of a cancer diagnosis, but for about 32 percent of cancer patients, the diagnosis may prompt a full-blown psychological disorder, said study lead author Anja Mehnert, a professor of psychosocial oncology at the University of Leipzig in Germany.
That’s much higher than the 20 percent mental disorder rate of the general population, she said. It’s important to note that although the study strongly links cancer and a mental health disorders, it wasn’t designed to prove that having cancer directly caused any mental health disorders.
“[Our] findings reinforce that, as doctors, we need to be very aware of signs and symptoms of mental and emotional distress,” Mehnert said. “We must encourage patients to seek evaluation, support and treatment if necessary, as there are long-term risks often associated with more severe, untreated mental health disorders.”
In an interesting twist, Mehnert and her colleagues found that breast cancer patients were twice as likely to experience a mental disorder than people with more typically fatal forms of cancer, such as stomach or pancreatic cancer.
“It kind of surprised us, because breast cancer is one of the most treatable cancers and most of the women have a very positive prognosis,” she said.
