Abstract :
As we had discussed before health is a multicausal issue. It is completely physical, mental, social,
and spiritual well being. These health determinants are interactive and dynamic. Cancer among
the diseases and disorders is significantly affected by these aspects of health. Emotion and
psychosocial determinants are one of the important factors that cancer concerns not just individual
patients but their families, relatives, colleagues, and the society in which they live; and not only
the body of the patients but the mind of him/her as well. So the term of psychosocial oncology is
created responding the subject.
By the Greek word “pschyo” means the “mind” which is different with “soul” that in Islamic
perspective is coming from Allah and is not changeable. Sociology will discuss about social
determinants such as poverty, housing, education, job, social position and irrelativeness, which all
of them are related to cancer management. Psycho social response depends on many different
factors such as:
*Medical Prognosis, as definite by the patient and his/her family
*Age, sex and social group of patient. The psycho social issues for a male manual worker who
is after 50 with a large family member and no sufficient insurance suffering from hepatic cellular
carcinoma is probably different with a young employee lady affected by breast carcinoma with
good support from spouse and family members. Cause of cancer by reality or justification of patient; for example a lady who has used
hormones and other related medications to become pregnant and suffering from breast cancer,
this would be a self blame, or blaming others and the judgment will be different with some
unanswerable question like ‘why me‘?
*Site and direct effect of cancer, will affect somatically or psychosocially the patient, for
example the brain tumor or sexual dysfunction due to rectal surgery.
*Presentation of disease will be followed by different psycho social issues, mastectomies' cases,
and cases with ostomy have different response from other malignancies, psychologically or
socially.
*Stigma is another issue which will effect on the psycho social aspect of health of the patient,
by conceals the diagnosis of the cancer from patient or relatives.
*Patient characteristic issues such as: belief to Allah, spirituality, religion, understanding of
death, cultural belief, education level, family and social integrity, past life experience, personal
and social empowerment.
*Geographical difference not only by the culture but by the habit and efficacy of the
geography in behavior and life style.
*Relationship to doctors and care givers, this is another important issues which will affect the
psychological aspect of cancer patients.
*Treatment issues that should be adjustable with patient will and economical power, not only by
the institutional or national guidelines.
These are some instances from broad elements of necessities that care givers and medical
doctors in particular are facing with in managing cancer patients, and should be empower enough
to respond it.
