November 12, 2007 - Beyond hospital visits and varied medical treatments lies a new groundbreaking report confirming the benefit of addressing cancer patients' emotional and psychological needs.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently released a study, Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs, which reinforces Gilda's Club Worldwide's program philosophy that social and emotional support are integral to medical treatment when cancer is in the family.
Through report findings, the IOM issues a call to action among medical professionals to increase the standard of psychosocial care for all cancer patients.
The study stated, "It has been shown that both cancer patients and their families are at increased risk for anxiety and depression related to the strain of the disease. These mental states can cause harmful health effects of their own, compounding the challenges of treatment."
Since opening its first red door in 1995, and well ahead of the IOM findings, Gilda's Club has developed program elements that researchers have now found help to improve the quality of survival.
Gilda's Club offers an environment to share information and coping strategies through a variety of activities from yoga, tai chi, nutrition and cooking classes to networking and educational workshops and lectures, each reflecting the interests and needs of the local membership.
Additional findings of the IOM study confirm, "All components of the health care system that are involved in cancer care should explicitly incorporate attention to psychosocial needs into their policies, practices, and standards addressing clinical health care."
For more information: www.gildasclub.org and www.nap.edu
September 07, 2023 
