Relationships Among Financial Distress, Emotional Distress, and Overall Distress in Insured Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated increasing rates of financial toxicities and emotional distress related to cancer treatment. This study assessed and characterized the relationships among financial distress, emotional symptoms, and overall distress in patients with cancer.

Methods: A cross-sectional sample of patients with cancer who visited our outpatient medical oncology and psychiatry clinics completed a pen-and-paper survey.

Distress management.

The integration of psychosocial care into the routine care of all patients with cancer is increasingly being recognized as the new standard of care. These NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Distress Management discuss the identification and treatment of psychosocial problems in patients with cancer. They are intended to assist oncology teams identify patients who require referral to psychosocial resources and to give oncology teams guidance on interventions for patients with mild distress to ensure that all patients with distress are recognized and treated.

Nicotine intervention during detoxification and treatment for other substance use.

This preliminary study evaluated the efficacy of a brief smoking cessation intervention (30 controls, 34 intervention groups) on a smoke-free inpatient unit for substance use detoxification. Controls received usual care, including the transdermal nicotine patch and referral to an outpatient smoking program. The intervention group additionally received a structured motivational enhancement program.