Psychological care of cancer patients in the diagnostic and therapeutic care pathway: the experience of the AOU Alessandria
Accepted: 8 July 2024
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Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in the world after cardiovascular disease, even though technological advances have led to a significant increase in survival in recent years. Cancer patients, precisely because of the complexity and nature of the problems they face, need a global and integrated multidisciplinary and multidimensional approach in their diagnostic-therapeutic pathway.
The reference model is bio-psycho-social: the traditional body-centered medical model is replaced by a person-centered approach, with the integration of physical, psychological, and social dimensions of the individual.
Psycho-oncology is placed in this area of multidisciplinarity and multidimensionality, on one hand constantly interfacing with other medical disciplines, and on the other developing personalized care paths for the patient and his family, which consider not only phys- ical but also psychological, existential and welfare needs.
This article describes the activity of the Psychology service of the AOU AL in taking charge of cancer patients, from the moment of diagnosis (or diagnostic suspicion) throughout the treatment and follow-up pathway, with reference to the moments of evaluation/assessment and interdisciplinary comparison.
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