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Mental Health

The Cancer Insights Panel* highlighted mental health support as a potential area of improvement during, and after, an experience of cancer. Commenting on their own experiences and the experiences of people they know that have been affected by cancer, the insights broadly aligned to:1

Mental health during diagnosis and treatment
Mental health post-treatment

Below are the panel members’ insights regarding mental health during an experience of cancer and their asks moving forward.

Meet Colin, who describes feeling lost when his treatment for bowel cancer came to an end

Mental health during diagnosis and treatment

What the panel members said…1

What patients are asking for…1

  • “No expert professional or counselling support was available to address my psychological challenges. Ultimately it fell on me to talk some sense into myself – to learn to live with gratitude and be able to move forward.” – patient, breast cancer
  • “Accessing emotional support is now via a medical referral and there’s a waiting list. We do have leaflets provided by Macmillan, but I’d rather have someone to chat to.” – patient, metastatic breast cancer
  • “My brother relied heavily on his wife for mental health support; there was no mental health support after receiving sad news at appointments.” – carer, bowel cancer
  • “Mental health support sessions are for a set period (e.g. 6/12 sessions) and then you go back to the end of the list again.” – patient, bowel cancer
  • “[PAGs provide] very limited support some support, which was not regular and does not meet needs.” – patient, bowel cancer
 Better access to mental health support,  from day 1 
  • Challenges surrounding mental health support relate to both availability and capacity of the services. For some patients, support was not clearly offered and the patient felt alone dealing with their mental and emotional wellbeing. For others, it was signposted but the service did not have capacity to provide the required level of support. 
  • The panel members noted a need for mental health support to be shared as early as possible in someone’s experience of cancer, given the immediate impact of medical investigations and diagnosis.
Access to different sources of mental health support 
  • The insights highlight the importance of providing patients with as many options for mental health support as possible – from support groups to counselling to online courses and mobile apps, with the hope that at least one will provide adequate support.

Mental health post-treatment

What the panel members said…1

What patients are asking for…1

  • “Theory amongst many – including friends and family – is that once acute treatment is over, you are absolutely fine and life has returned to normal for you. I found it was at this stage that psychological impact was most significant. I personally find it hard to discuss my fears with my close family as the reality of recurrence is too bleak.” – patient, breast cancer
  • “I have PTSD from having had cancer, so as much as my treatment was good and the aftercare while taking medication was good, the result is that there was not enough support during this time and definitely not enough after you are thrown back into the world of realisation that you are now on their own.” – patient, breast cancer
  • “I have found there is complete lack of understanding of what each patient goes through on an emotional level. Physically your cancer is treated, but you are left adrift dealing with the fall out completely alone.” – patient, colorectal cancer 
  • “Charities are the only ones filling the gap for mental health support post-treatment. Organisations like the Ellen Macarthur Trust are trying their best, but either need more funding or for a centralised service to relieve this load.” – patient, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
  • “Mental health support for end-of-life patients in a home setting is limited unless the patient goes to a hospice where the care is good.” – patient, bowel cancer
Better recognition of mental health needs for patients in remission or considered to be cancer-free 
  • Anxiety and fear were identified as common feelings experienced by people that have finished cancer treatment; the fear of cancer returning is palpable and there may be concerns about adapting to a ‘new normal’ after cancer. This anxiety can last for years for some patients, but many don’t feel like this is acknowledged as they enter life post-treatment. 
  • The panel members highlighted the need to ensure mental health resources and tools are signposted to patients as they navigate life following treatment for cancer.  
Better recognition of mental health needs for people who may never be ‘cancer-free’ 
  • Whether they have been diagnosed with an incurable cancer or are undergoing end-of-life treatment, some patients may never be ‘cancer free’. The panel members noted a need for specific mental health support for these patients, as the thoughts and feelings they have are often very different to those of someone who is in remission or living without cancer. 
Mental Health (PDF download)

Download a one-page summary of the Cancer Insights Panel's commentary and key takeaways surrounding mental health during an experience of cancer

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Wellbeing

Insights surrounding patients' wellbeing during an experience of cancer

 Read MoreLoading HCP-Patient Relationships

Insights surrounding HCP-patient relationships during an experience of cancer

Read MoreLoadingCancer Insights Panel

*The Cancer Insights Panel is a Pfizer initiative developed to gather the perspectives of people impacted by cancer. The first panel, which ran between June 2022 and January 2024, was formed of 30 people who were carefully selected based on their ability to share the needs and voices of a range of people affected by cancer, including patients and carers alike. This resource has been developed based on insights shared by panel members. Pfizer has reviewed and compiled these insights, to identify potential areas for improvement during an experience of cancer. All panel members have consented to the sharing of their contributions. Direct quotes from panel members are presented in quotation marks.

Reference: 

Pfizer Ltd. Data on file. REF-UNP29750.
PP-UNP-GBR-8321. October 2024

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