(Press-News.org) A cancer diagnosis is a life-changing event for patients that can cause short- and long-term mental health concerns as they shift to living within a new timeline driven by weeks or months between medical follow-up appointments. A new survey conducted on behalf of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) highlights the widespread emotional impact of cancer, revealing what weighs heavy on the minds of adults when a loved one is diagnosed.
Kevin Johns, MD, director of the psychosocial oncology program at the OSUCCC – James said studies suggest that up to cancer patients are five times as likely to experience depression than the average population and an estimated 42% of breast cancer survivors experience anxiety.
“Depression and anxiety can significantly impact a patient’s ability to finish care and fully recover after treatment – all of which impacts long-term survival. It’s not uncommon for patients to wait up to a year to see a psychiatrist, depending on where they live and what insurance they have. Patients going through cancer treatment simply can’t wait that long – the need is acute but also chronic, so timely access is critical. We are working to fill those gaps in care to better support our patients and their caregivers,” said Johns.
Caregivers carry burden of stress, grief, worry alongside loved ones
A recent survey commissioned by the OSUCCC – James among U.S. adults age 18 or older focused on the top concerns when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. The survey found that over three-quarters of adults surveyed list life expectancy (76%), course of treatment (69%) and pain (65%) as top concerns they have about loved ones diagnosed with cancer. The list of concerns was extensive, including:
Side effects (55%)
Family stress (54%)
Grief (49%)
Medication (42%)
Caregiver stress (34%)
Body image (11%)
None of the above (2%)
“The complex nature of caregivers’ concerns is very representative of the unique challenges we face as a mental health community in supporting our patients through treatment and into their ‘new normal’ as a cancer survivor,” Johns said. “It is truly a life journey, and like any journey, it can have extreme ups and downs that must be navigated. Helping our patients thrive beyond the diagnosis through proper mental health care is paramount to achieving high quality of life.”
Other notable points from the survey:
Young Americans ages 18-29 are more likely than all other age groups to report grief (66%) as a top concern when a family member is diagnosed with cancer.
Young adults are also more likely than older adults, age 65 and over, to say that body image (18%) is a top concern.
Conversely, the oldest Americans are more likely than the youngest Americans to say that course of treatment (74%) and caregiver stress (37%) are top concerns for them when a loved one is diagnosed.
Johns noted that mental health is especially complicated in the cancer survivor population because challenges can manifest in different ways at different stages of the cancer journey through diagnosis, treatment and survivorship follow-up. He cited cognitive changes, severe fatigue, “brain fog” brought on by the effects of treatment, and even PTSD-like (post-traumatic stress disorder) symptoms or hallucinations and hospital delirium as side effects of cancer that are not often talked about but that can be very jarring for patients and caregivers alike.
“If patients or their caregivers are not warned beforehand that these symptoms can occur, it can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety and shame, so it is very important that we work with our patients and caregivers upfront to prepare them for what might happen,” said Johns.
Changing, expanding model of care
Under Johns’ leadership, the OSUCCC – James Psychosocial Oncology Program has greatly expanded its team of psychiatric providers, psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals to support OSUCCC – James patients.
In addition, Johns also helped the OSUCCC - James pilot an innovative oncology consulting service to help breast medical oncologists navigate medical management of anxiety and depression among their patients. The pilot initiative was received positively by patients and the medical oncologists and is now being expanded to serve patients with head and neck cancer.
“Patients going through cancer treatment already have so many appointments, and generally they develop a very close relationship with their medical oncologist, so this practitioner also becomes the default mental health provider if they do not have immediate access to a specialized health care provider,” said Johns. “This new model of support was designed to help extend existing mental health support services to as many patients as possible.”
To learn more about psychosocial oncology and other services for patients and caregivers at the OSUCCC – James provided through JamesCare for Life, visit cancer.osu.edu or call 1-800-293-5066.
Survey Methodology
This study was conducted by SSRS on its Opinion Panel Omnibus platform. The SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus is a national, twice-per-month, probability-based survey. Data collection was conducted from May 2 – May 5, 2025 among a sample of 1,008 respondents. The survey was conducted via web (n=978) and telephone (n=30) and administered in English. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All SSRS Opinion Panel Omnibus data are weighted to represent the target population of U.S. adults ages 18 or older.
###
END
Scientists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have made a landmark discovery that could lead to safer and more effective gene therapies for a range of serious genetic disorders including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Pompe disease and haemophilia.
Published in the leading journal Cell, the study identifies a previously unknown gateway into human cells, a receptor called AAVR2, that gene therapy viruses use to deliver therapeutic genes. This newly uncovered pathway could allow lower ...
A research team has discovered an electrochemical method that allows highly selective para-position single-carbon insertion into polysubstituted pyrroles. Their approach has important applications in synthetic organic chemistry, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals.
Their work is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on July 14.
“We set out to address the longstanding challenge of achieving single-carbon insertion into aromatic rings with precise positional control,” said Mahito Atobe, Professor, Faculty of Engineering, YOKOHAMA National University. Transformations that modify ...
Feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, is a serious and historically fatal disease in cats caused by a coronavirus. It behaves in many ways like severe coronavirus infections in humans, causing widespread inflammation, T cell exhaustion, and chronic immune dysfunction. Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have found that mesenchymal stromal cells, or MSC therapy, in combination with antiviral drugs, helped cats’ immune systems recover and reduced systemic inflammation. The study was published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.
“Our findings support the idea that FIP in cats is a useful model for studying long-term immune problems after a viral infection — ...
Progress towards universal access to safe, affordable surgical care is dangerously off track as at least 160 million patients each year are unable to receive surgery - with Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) bearing the brunt of the crisis, a new study reveals.
A global coalition of 60 health experts representing 20 countries is calling for urgent action to resolve the crisis – warning that only 26% of LMICs are on track to meet a target for everyone to be able to access essential surgery within 2 hours, and ...
There is an accompanying press briefing being hosted by the Science Media Centre in the UK. Please contact UK Biobank for the details.
In a remarkable achievement that is already impacting how we detect and diagnose disease, UK Biobank has completed the world’s largest whole body imaging project, scanning the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of 100,000 volunteers. These scans, on this scale, show us what is happening in people’s bodies as they age so we can understand how, why and when we get sick.
Since 2015, UK Biobank’s imaging data have been released in batches1 ...
People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have an odour that can be reliably detected from skin swabs by trained dogs, a new study has shown.
The research, in collaboration with Medical Detection Dogs and the Universities of Bristol and Manchester, is published in The Journal of Parkinson’s Disease today [15 July].
Two dogs were trained by the charity, Medical Detection Dogs, to distinguish between sebum swabs from people with and without Parkinson’s disease.
In a double blind trial, they showed sensitivity of up to 80% and specificity of up to 98%.
Not only that, ...
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01AM UK TIME ON TUESDAY 15 JULY 2025
Insomnia could be key to lower life satisfaction in adults with ADHD traits, study finds
Insomnia could explain why adults with ADHD traits report having a lower quality of life, according to new research led by the University of Southampton and the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience.
A study published today [15 July] in BMJ Mental Health found that having higher ADHD traits was associated with a lower quality of life and that insomnia could be part of the reason why.
At least ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2025
CONTACT: Camille Jewell
cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460
NASHVILLE — A study presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting found that almost half of gunshot wound injuries to the brain in children and young adults include penetrating cerebrovascular injuries (PCVIs). These types of injuries, which damage blood vessels in the brain and may result in high rates of permanent disability and death, may be mitigated if hospitals ...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Scholars and schoolchildren alike have generally classified animals by the foods they eat: carnivores eat meat; browsers consume flowering plants, conifers and shrubs; and grazers focus on grasses.
But a new federally funded study led by Brown University biologists and scientists at Yellowstone National Park revealed that different circumstances lead herbivores to eat a much wider variety of plants than previously believed.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new research suggests that the traditional classification schemes that distinguish herbivores by their ...
Widowed parents who enjoy close relationships with their adult children still struggle with loneliness, according to the first study of its kind.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Aging & Mental Health, the analysis spanning 25 years was based on interviews with more than 5,500 men and women including those whose spouse had died.
The findings contradict commonly held assumptions that indicate widowed parents experience much lower levels of loneliness than those without children.
Although the bond between bereaved women and their offspring is strengthened, the authors of this new study say this is insufficient to fill the emotional void left after the death of ...
