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The Case for Low-intensity Psychological Interventions in Cancer Care By Stephen May  Nurses, doctors and allied health professionals working in cancer know that understanding the psychological needs of patients is crucial for providing best-practice holistic care. But knowing what is needed and being able to offer it in daily clinical practice are two very different things. So, how can we better integrate psychological care into cancer treatment on a limited budget? Low-intensity psychological interventions are a great start. They are the essential first component of comprehensive cancer care. They are evidence-based and provide psychological support to cancer patients without requiring extensive resources. The World Health Organisation champions their use to help fill the gaps that remain in the accessibility and delivery of psychological support for cancer patients. These gaps stem from limited availability of trained professionals, li...
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  Filling the Gaps in Psychological   Support for Cancer Patients by Stephen May   The psychological impact of a diagnosis of cancer is well recognised — up to one in four people with cancer will suffer clinically significant distress. Families and caregivers of cancer patients also frequently experience emotional strain, grappling with guilt, helplessness, and an overwhelming caregiving burden. Addressing these psychological concerns is crucial to ensuring best-practice holistic care and improving the overall quality of life for both patients and their families. Despite advances in psycho-oncology practice, gaps remain in the accessibility and delivery of psychological support for cancer patients through: Limited availability of trained psychological care professionals due to budget constraints. Limited service access, especially in rural or resource-restricted settings.   Lack of seamless integration of psychological care into broa...
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  It’s not enough to just treat prostate cancer. by Stephen May Survivorship rates for prostate cancer are very good these days. Men live longer due to advances in early detection and medical treatment options. But that’s just half the story. Compared with men in the general population, men with prostate cancer are twice as likely to experience depression and three times more likely to experience anxiety. The risk of suicide for these men is greatest within the first year after diagnosis. Many men will walk out of their urologist’s rooms after a diagnosis of prostate cancer into a world of private hurt and hopelessness. Lost, confused, with a head full of survival statistics, treatments, and contact details where they might find 'support', they will strive to cope with a major life stressor that cuts to the core of their belie...
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  Are Australian men receiving the best care for prostate cancer from their health professionals? by Stephen May   The short answer is no, but they soon can be because now we have the means. Tens of millions of dollars are invested towards saving lives and helping more men survive prostate cancer — delivering research breakthroughs and new medicines. Treatments for prostate cancer have dramatically altered. Robot-assisted surgeries, refined methods of radiation therapy, a range of different hormone-blocking treatments, new chemotherapy regimens, and personalised medicine based on genomic profiling are now available. Survival rates for prostate cancer have soared. Over 95% of men are likely to survive at least five years post-diagnosis. Yet, with all this medical intervention, being a prostate cancer survivor brings many men and their partners and their families a level of psychological distress that compromises both their mental and physical health. Many men will walk ...
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  What’s therapy really like … and what’s death got to do with it? by Stephen May As a trained psychologist-turned publisher who has spent the last 32 years publishing everything from scientific research papers on experimental psychology to the biography of an internationally acclaimed New-York based social psychologist, I thought I knew the answer to that question. Until that is, I had the chance to publish a new book by a venerable Sydney clinical psychologist and his recently minted psychologist daughter. Ross Menzies is highly respected in Australian clinical psychology circles. Currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Technology, Sydney, he spent 20 years as Director of the University of Sydney Anxiety Disorders Clinic which he founded in 1991. He has also long maintained a thriving private practice in inner-west Sydney. His daughter Rachel graduated from The University of Sydney in 2015, scoring a prize for her thesis work, featuring in a collec...
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