Iowa Public Radio | "More Iowans are surviving cancer. But with it can come mental health challenges"
Iowa Public Radio interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Patricia Ganz about cancer survivors' mental health needs.
Iowa Public Radio interviewed UCLA Fielding's Dr. Patricia Ganz, distinguished professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, about cancer survivors' mental health needs.
"When it comes to treating cancer, the field of oncology often neglects mental health, said Patricia Ganz, an oncologist and professor at the UCLA School of Public Health, who has spent decades working with cancer survivors.
“We know how to give pills. We know how to give pain medicine, sleep medicines, but we're not really schooled in the antidepressants,” she said.
There’s an increasing awareness about the need for screening and addressing mental health services for cancer patients and survivors, but expert-recommended screenings don’t always happen to the extent Ganz said they should.
“If you screen, that means you have to be able to provide services that's not always available if you don't have access to a mental health professional. So that has not been done as rigorously as it should be in general practice,” she said."
