Placing the psychological wellbeing of people with cancer on equal footing to physical health.

In 2018/19, All.Can International conducted a patient survey in more than ten countries which asked almost 4,000 cancer patients and carers where they identified inefficiencies in their care. The UK survey results, comprised of 322 people, highlighted that:

•20% of respondents said that they did not need some sort of psychological support during/after their cancer care. Of those who did, half said that it wasn’t available.

• 40% were not given any information about patient groups, charities, or other organisations who could support them.

Following these results, the All.Can UK Working Group decided it would focus on the value of psychological and emotional wellbeing for people with cancer in 2019 and beyond:

• The link between mental health and cancer is well understood, with around one in four cancer patients requiring expert psychological assessment and intervention as a result of their diagnosis.

• The NHS has taken steps to expand the availability of mental health services in recent years; however, there remains significant unmet need.

• There is an increasing number of patients who are expected to survive cancer in the coming decades. As a result, there could be a growing burden placed on the health service to provide support to patients.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of inefficiencies in cancer care, All.Can developed the report, All.Can UK: Placing the psychological wellbeing of people with cancer on equal footing to physical health.

The report explores the barriers patients face in accessing mental health support and examples of best practice across the NHS and voluntary sector in providing it.

CANCER: OUT OF SIGHT NOT OUT OF MIND

All references are shown in the full report

Melanoma UK is a proud member of the All.Can UK Steering Group