Cancer diagnosis: Should you see a psychiatrist?

Posted on 5 August 2016

It’s the ultimate nightmare: You – or a loved one – is diagnosed with cancer. What happens next? And over and above the medical treatment, what psychological support will you need to make it through this journey?

‘Whenever someone gets a diagnosis like that, there’s a lot of emotional value to it because we see cancer as potentially fatal,’ says Dr Hugo la Grange, a psychiatrist at Mediclinic Durbanville. ‘Often, depending on the severity or the degree of the cancer that’s diagnosed, there is a feeling of helplessness.’

For some patients – and their family and loved ones – there may be a need for psychological or psychiatric assistance, but Dr La Grange doesn’t prescribe this as a hard and fast rule. ‘It all depends on the needs of the individual,’ he says. ‘Some people can be very reluctant to see a psychiatrist or psychologist, and in that case it wouldn’t be appropriate.’

Dr La Grange prefers to assess how the patient is coping. ‘From a psychiatric perspective, it’s good to get a picture of where the patient is,’ he says. ‘So if a patient’s treating doctor picks up that they’re not handling things well, the doctor might ask a psychiatrist or psychologist to assess the patient. From an assessment point of view I think it’s good to see the patient – even if it’s just to confirm that they’re handling the situation well enough.’

Get the help you need
Seeing a psychiatrist will also give you a place to come back to if things change during the treatment. ‘If the patient has seen a psychiatrist already, they’ll know they have someone to talk to and will have the freedom to ask questions or follow up if later on they experience anxiety or depression.’

The other advantage of seeing a psychiatrist is that they’ll be able to assess and recommend extra medication. ‘We can look at all the medication the patient is taking and see how antidepressants might work with it.’

Here it’s important to highlight the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. While they work together in the treatment of patients, a psychologist is not able to write prescriptions for medication, but a psychiatrist is. And they often refer patients to each other, Dr La Grange explains. ‘A psychiatrist can refer a patient to a psychologist, much like an orthopaedic surgeon would refer a patient to a physiotherapist.’

Whichever of the two you choose, it’s worth seeing a mental healthcare professional if you’re dealing with a cancer diagnosis. You’ll have plenty of questions, stress and anxiety, and Mediclinic doctors can help you deal with all of that.