BOSTON, Oct 28, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- More than 7 percent of childhood
cancer survivors say they had suicidal thoughts, U.S. researchers found.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found brain and
central nervous system cancer survivors were the most likely to experience
suicidal thoughts -- 10.6 percent -- while survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
were the least likely -- 6.7 percent. The study found 4.5 percent of the control
group had suicidal thoughts.
"Although the vast majority of survivors reported no suicidal ideation, the
significant minority of survivors with thoughts of suicide is a serious
concern," lead author Christopher Recklitis of the Perini Family Survivors'
Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston said in a statement.
The study findings are an important reminder to clinicians cancer survivors with
significant physical health problems may also have significant emotional
problems.
"While our healthcare system and our culture drive us to treat physical and
emotional suffering very differently, clearly we need an integrated approach to
helping survivors with their physical health problems and the emotional distress
that can be associated with them," Recklitis said.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International