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Cancer patients' suicidal thoughts

11/08/2008

People with cancer are three times more likely to think they would be 'better off dead' or to contemplate suicide than others, a survey has revealed.

The Cancer Research UK study found that patients were most likely to have these thoughts if they had substantial pain and particularly if they had serious emotional distress.

Almost 3,000 patients with a range of cancer answered a computerised questionnaire about their physical and emotional symptoms.

Nearly eight per cent said they had thoughts of being better off dead or of hurting themselves. This compares with a figure of just 2.6 per cent in a similar survey of the general population conducted in Australia.

Cancer Research UK said the results highlight the need for more support services to be available for cancer patients and that this is particularly important in the area of pain management.

Lead author Jane Walker, based at Edinburgh University, said: "It is worrying that, despite improvements in cancer care, a substantial number of patients feel they would be better off dead.

"We know that depression is common in patients who have cancer but it is often missed. Pain is also a big problem. Treating patients' symptoms as well as their disease might improve, and even save, their lives."

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer information, commented: "It is normal to experience distress after a cancer diagnosis.

"But for some patients emotional distress or depression becomes a problem in itself and may lead to suicidal thoughts. Cancer specialists and GPs can provide treatment, with the help of psychiatrists if necessary."

The survey is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.