The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) yesterday said it is subsidizing seven hospitals across the nation to promote a family-based cancer care model for newly diagnosed cancer patients, which integrates care services from healthcare professionals, psychologists and social workers.
Data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last week showed that cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan for 42 consecutive years, and the number of people diagnosed with cancer has been increasing year by year.
HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said the average five-year survival rate of people with cancer has increased from 50.2 percent between 2005 and 2009 to 62.1 percent between 2017 and 2021, showing that cancer prevention efforts have been effective, but it also means that patients need to live with cancer for longer, managing it as they would a chronic illness.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
He said that as the number of patients living with cancer increases, the care model needs to be extended from hospitals to communities and families, providing more comprehensive care services.
As people who are diagnosed with cancer often face physical, mental and financial impacts, which can be very stressful, the administration is promoting the trial program at seven hospitals this year to assist them and their families.
HPA Cancer Prevention and Control Division Director Lin Li-ju (林莉茹) said that age, family role, status and other factors influence the mental impact of being diagnosed with cancer, so the right mental support is very important.
She said that in the past, many people might have felt that being diagnosed with cancer would be the end of their lives, but with medical advancements, cancer is not necessarily incurable.
About 121,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year.
The family-based cancer care model would be aimed at people diagnosed with cancer for the first time within a year, and the designated hospitals would offer different types of care models for different types of cancers, provided by medical teams consisting of healthcare professionals, psychologists, social workers and a case manager, she said.
Mackay Memorial Hospital psychiatrist Fang Chun-kai (方俊凱) said there was a recent case of a woman in her 40s whose ovarian cancer relapsed, which she found difficult to deal with and attempted suicide.
The hospital recommended a mental health intervention and initiated the family-based care model, integrating her family members into the process to provide her with strong support.
Her situation has improved and she is now fighting cancer with her family, he added.
National Cheng Kung University Hospital Cancer Center director Yen Chia-jui (顏家瑞) said children with cancer usually do not understand their illness and might reject treatment or feel anxious about the adverse side effects of treatment.
Therefore, it is important to explain their condition to the child’s family members and also work with the local health department, school or other civil groups to provide the child with the support needed so they could return to school, he added.
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