How to identify patients in need of psychological intervention.

The identification of skin cancer patients in need of psychosocial intervention is a necessary prerequisite to relieving their distress and specifically supporting their coping strategies. The influence of early support even on prognosis has been shown in melanoma patients. Only a few patients ask for support themselves.

[Need for psychosocial management of facial and skin tumor patients].

Starting from the current level of research on the amount and detection of support requirements of tumour patients a lack of practicable screening instruments in psychooncology becomes evident for valid and reliable identification of highly distressed patients in order to offer them treatment-integrated specific interventions. The following report bases on the results of a research project with facial and skin cancer patients and so closes the gap. Patients in need of support can be identified by means of the "Hornheide Questionnaire", developed for this purpose.

[Quality of life of patients with malignant facial and skin tumors--development of a questionnaire and initial findings of a study].

Assisted by Deutsche Krebshilfe, the German cancer aid fund, a questionnaire for assessment of quality of life in patients with life-threatening skin tumours and disfiguring tumour sequels was developed at Fachklinik Hornheide between 1986 and 1988. A first step toward determining quality of life and for enhancing treatment-integrated rehabilitative work is the assessment of the subjective distress and problems experienced due to the illness and its treatment. This is the objective of the Hornheider Fragebogen, a questionnaire developed in the framework of the study on the basis of extensive literature search, structured interviews with patients and treating staff.