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Psychosocial and Spiritual Issues in Supportive Cancer Care

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The MASCC Textbook of Cancer Supportive Care and Survivorship

Abstract

Caring for cancer patients throughout their illness trajectory requires treating patients as whole persons, also including their families and loved ones, whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Recognizing, assessing, and addressing psychosocial issues, including spiritual needs, are therefore an integral part of cancer care and of its supportive dimension. Research and clinical practices in both psychosocial and spiritual areas have rapidly increased in the past decade. Spirituality is more and more integrated within the fields of oncology and palliative care as both patients and healthcare professionals recognizing the importance of the spiritual dimensions within the therapeutic relationship.

In this chapter we summarize some of the most relevant findings and also make use of narrative—a clinical vignette from within the culture and religious dimension of an Arab Muslim family to illustrate the depth of spiritual issues in our multicultural societies and clinical settings. We also focus on the special contribution of MASCC to the dissemination of a new paradigm of cancer care that integrates psychosocial issues at all stages of the cancer continuum. We point out the challenges of integrating and tailoring interventions suitable to the specific needs of the family and the patient and to relate directly to the cultural and spiritual perception of the illness.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, New York University Medical School, New York, NY, USA

    Antonella Surbone

  2. School of Behavioral Sciences, Tel-Aviv-Yaffo Academic College, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Gil Goldzweig

  3. Assuta Medical Centers, Oncology Institute, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Lea Baider

Authors
  1. Antonella Surbone
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  2. Gil Goldzweig
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  3. Lea Baider
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gil Goldzweig .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Ian Olver

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Surbone, A., Goldzweig, G., Baider, L. (2018). Psychosocial and Spiritual Issues in Supportive Cancer Care. In: Olver, I. (eds) The MASCC Textbook of Cancer Supportive Care and Survivorship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90990-5_41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90990-5_41

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