Psycho-oncology In Max Hospital Saket New Delhi India

Cancer diagnosis is often seen as a physical illness only. We may not realise the mental health challenges it may be causing to our daily routines and relationships. We often tend to ignore the consequences of surgical, medical, radiation and hormonal treatments on a person’s mental health.

Psycho-oncology is a branch of health psychology which combines psychology with cancer care and creates a bridge between the physical and mental aspects of the illness. Psycho-oncology provides specialised interventions from the time of diagnosis through treatment, focusing on the psychosocial aspects of patients and their caregivers through psychotherapy and specialised counselling sessions.

Get Opinion From Doctor

The need for psycho-oncology is undeniable, especially in addressing the psychological responses to cancer and other manifestations during the varying stages of illness and survivorship. People diagnosed with cancer or in stages of recovery all require support from a psycho-oncologist, a support service that benefits patients and caregivers in their journey towards healing.

Symptoms

A Psycho-oncologist is a specialist who identifies and manages a broad range of mental health problems faced by patients diagnosed with cancer, along with their family members and caregivers. The mental health challenges that can occur include initial trauma, denial, anxiety, depression, fear, anger outburst, lack of compliance, grief and so on.

Other symptoms include:

• Helplessness
• Loss of hope
• Anxiety and panic
• Sadness
• Mood swings
• Anger outbursts
• Fears and worry
• Insecurity and body-image concerns
• Conflicts in relationships
• Death ideation and negative thinking
• Feelings of loss and grief
• Guilt and embarrassment
• Reduced sexual desirability
• Feelings of shock and trauma
• Concentration and memory concerns

Role of Psycho-oncology Support

Psycho-oncology helps people with cancer and their families deal with the stress of the illness. Counselling therapy is useful for both acute and chronic cases. It focuses on understanding and treating cancer-related impact on one’s mental health and well-being by evaluating the social, psychological, spiritual, emotional and functional aspects of cancer on the individual.

In addition, psycho-oncologists aim to:

• Strengthen the mind to help cope with the experience of cancer
• Help both patients and families from the time of diagnosis through treatment
• Focus on improving psychological and social well-being, including:
• acceptance of diagnosis and treatment,
• ways of coping with the treatment,
• rebuilding inner strength to resume functionality,
• pre- and post-operative counselling and
• encouraging lifestyle changes

When to see a Psycho-oncologist?

The diagnosis of cancer itself may cause shock, anxiety and depressiveness in many patients. In addition, it puts a lot of stress on the family, finances, and day-to-day living in general.

A Psycho-oncologist helps and supports patients learn to address and cope with the pressures of medical treatment, insomnia, relationship conflicts, emotional needs, coping with pain and side effects, caregiving, and other issues that patients and their families may experience during and after the diagnosis of cancer and its treatment.

A Psycho-oncologist should be consulted when an individual has been diagnosed with cancer or is already in treatment for the same. If they are experiencing any distress at a psychosocial level, they are advised to seek counselling support with a Psycho-oncologist.

They help with the following:

• Regulating Emotions: Constantly feeling sad, upset, frustrated, depressed or hopeless and not being able to deal with such emotional outbursts requires professional assistance. An imbalance of emotions can be detrimental to mental as well as physical health. Psycho-oncologists can help regulate these emotions and prevent triggers.
• Disturbed Sleeping Patterns: Poor sleep quality greatly affects one’s mental health. Often, people struggling with mental health issues have trouble sleeping due to anxiety, worries, and preoccupations; and either wakes up too early or repeatedly at night. Inadequate or disturbed sleep has a major impact on routine, performance, functionality and emotional health. Hence, consulting a Psycho-oncologist may help address these issues.
• Unhealthy Patterns: People with mental health issues as a result of cancer may resort to addictions to alcohol or other substances to help cope with the stress of the disease. Psycho-oncologists can help reduce and eventually eliminate these addictive behavioural patterns as an unhealthy coping mechanism.
• Isolation and Social Withdrawal: It is common for people with cancer to experience depressiveness or anxiety due to their changed appearance and side effects of the treatment. This further and often leads to avoidance of social gatherings and support circles. This could be due to their inability to control emotions, fear of judgement of their appearance, or lack of confidence to face others.
• Excessive Anxiety: A Psycho-oncologist can help deal with emotions such as anxiety, stress, sorrow or worries in patients with cancer. In addition, it is imperative to speak to a Psycho-oncologist if one feels extreme bouts of dullness and sadness, along with death ideations leading to thoughts of self-harm or dysfunctionality.

Process of Therapy with a Psycho-oncologist

Psycho-oncologists conduct counselling sessions wherein the patient and the therapist speak in a judgement-free environment, where the patient can talk about their emotions, thoughts and feelings in the here and now.

Each practitioner’s methods and techniques may vary from practice to practice. However, Psycho-oncologists primarily focus on assessing the patient’s mental health through psychological interviewing and assessment tools. In addition, they may provide appropriate interventions, when needed, that are tailor-made to the specific individual’s concerns and problems. Psycho-oncologists are also involved in research, training and support group planning and implementation.

Here is how they formulate an individual patient-related case:

Initial Assessment: Initial interviewing requires building rapport and having an in-depth conversation with the patient about their mood, thoughts and present feelings. They further ask relevant questions and allow the client or the patient to feel comfortable and emotionally safe to further discuss their problems while keeping confidentiality in mind. During the conversation, they assess how the client thinks, interprets, and infers.

Intervention Planning: Based on the initial assessment, the treatment plan is formulated and discussed with the patient, their families and the treating team to ensure a holistic approach to each patient. There are various psychological approaches and therapeutic models that are implemented for one or multiple difficulties. Psycho-oncologists choose one or an eclectic approach suited to their assessment and practice.

As opposed to psychiatrists, Psycho-oncologists are trained counsellors and therapists with a background and training in Psychology and a specialisation in Psycho-oncology.

However, psychologists or Psycho-oncologists do not have the authority to prescribe medications. Hence, if a chemical imbalance leads to a clinical mental health issue in a patient diagnosed with cancer, it is imperative to consult a psychiatrist or the treating oncologist. And the Psycho-oncologist can make a cross-referral for pharmacotherapeutic intervention alongside ongoing counselling support.

Dr. Harit Chaturvedi

Specialist:      Surgical Oncologist
Experience:   25+ years of experience
Hospital:        Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Harit Chaturvedi is a famous surgical Oncologist at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi.
• Having a vast 25 years of experience in the field of surgical Oncologist.
• Chaturvedi has performed surgeries at live surgical workshops and has been championing the cause for cancer awareness.

Dr. Aditi Chaturvedi

SPECIALIST : Surgical Oncologist
Experience :    9 years of experience
Hospital :         Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Aditi Chaturvedi is a surgical oncologist with 8+ years of experience.
• Her clinical interest includes breast and oncoplastic surgery, colorectal cancer surgery, esophageal cancer surgery and head and neck reconstruction surgery.
• She won Gold Medal in General Surgery from AIIMS, New Delhi and has vice chancellor’s Certificate of Merit from MUHS, Nashik.

Dr. Raman Deep Singh Arora

Specialist :      Pediatric Oncologist
Experience :   22 years of experience
Hospital :         Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Raman Deep Singh Arora is a renowned Paediatric Oncologist and Pediatrician, with experience of over 20 years.
• He offers treatment of all types of cancers in children including Leukemia, Lymphoma, Brain Tumor, Embryonic Tumor, Sarcoma etc.
• He is honored with the membership of various prestigious associations such as Children’s Cancer and Leukemia Group, UK, Indian Cooperative Oncology Network, India, International Society of Paediatric Oncology, Netherlands, Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, UK.

Dr. Rajender Kumar

Specialist:    Oncologist
Experience: 22 years of experience
Hospital:      Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Rajender Kumar is a renowned Cancer Specialist at Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, New Delhi.
• He specializes in treating all kinds of cancers including Head, Neck, Gallbladder, Ovaries, Skin, Pancreas, Small & Large Intestine, Prostate, Lungs, Breast, And Liver.
• He is an expert in Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Lymphoma & Myeloma diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Akshay Tiwari

Speciality:   Surgical Oncologist
Experience: 18 years of experience
Hospital:      Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Akshay Tiwari is a musculoskeletal surgical oncologist with 18+ years of experience.
• He received Best Published Paper award at RGCON; Best Paper Award at ICC and Gold Medal of highest marks in Anatomy in MBBS exams.
• He has performed more than 1000 surgeries for patients suffering from bone and soft tissue and tumors.

Get Opinion From Doctor

Dr. Sandeep Batra

Specialist:         Medical Oncologist
Experience:     16+ years of experience
Hospital:           Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Sandeep Batra is a renowned Medical Oncologist and carries an experience of more than a decade.
• Dr. Sandeep Batra qualified & experienced in management of all types of cancers
• Dr. Sandeep Batra’s Interests are in the management of Lung Cancer, Breast cancer, Colorectal cancers, Genitourinary cancers including Cervical cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Kidney cancer, Bladder cancer, Prostate cancer, Myeloma, Lymphoma, Leukemia and Sarcomas

Dr. Durgatosh Pandey

Specialist:     Surgical Oncologist
Experience:  18+ years of experience
Hospital:       Max Hospital Saket

About Doctor:

• Dr. Durgatosh Pandey is a surgical oncologist with 18+ years of experience.
• Dr. Durgatosh Pandey has written a book on science and philosophy “A Peep into Void”.
• Dr. Durgatosh Pandey is a founder member of the Lung Cancer Consortium Asia, Esophageal cancer consortium, trustee member of ICON (Indian Co-operative Oncology Network), External examiner for M.Ch (Surgical Oncology) examination at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and member of the ICMR Task Force.

Dr. Devavrat Arya

Speciality:          Oncologist
Experience:       17+ Years Experience
Hospital:            Max Hospital Saket

About doctor:

• Dr. Devavrat Arya is a highly skilled Medical Oncologist and Oncologist in Delhi.
• He holds an experience of 15 years in the medical field.
• He has done his DM – Medical Oncology from Gujarat University, India in 2011, MD – Internal Medicine from Gujarat University, India in 2006 and MBBS from University of Delhi in 2001.

Dr. Charu Garg

Speciality:        Radiation Oncology and  Oncologist
Experience:      24+ Years Experience
Hospital:           Max Hospital Saket  

About doctor:

• A specialist in Radiation Oncology with a rich experience of over 24 years is currently working in Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket.
•  She has handled numerous complex medical cases and is known for attention to detail, accurate diagnosis and treating patients with empathy.Connect to Dr Charu Garg for priority appointments and a hassle-free experience via the medical experts.

Dr. Dodul Mondal

Speciality:        Radiation Oncology and  Consultant
Experience:     13+ Years Experience
Hospital:           Max Hospital Saket

About doctor:

•  Dr. Dodul Mondal is a well-known Radiation Oncologist with 13+ years of experience.
• He has experience of working with Proton Beam Therapy at one of the largest university hospitals in the United States. 
• He is highly experienced with Tomotherapy, Stereotactic RadioSurgery (SRS), Stereotactic Radiation Therapy (SRT), Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT), Rapid Arc, VMAT etc. 

Get Opinion From India’s Best Doctors

We offers these Services

• Providing a doctor’s opinion and proper quotation
• Selecting the best hospital and doctor as per your case
• Arranging a call with the doctor (if the case required)
• Visa assistance, Providing Visa Invitation Letter (VIL)
• Providing full guidance how to get Visa from your country
• Providing total cost including treatment, air tickets, accommodation, and food
• Assitance to book flight ticket from your country
• Arranging airport pick up/ drop
• Providing professional language interpreter
• Booking accommodation and guest house as per your budget/ prefrence
• Providing help in money exchanging
• Providing free local sim card
• Arranging video consultation with specialist doctor if case requires