ABSTRACT
This chapter will describe a psychological approach in the treatment of the emotional aspects of cancer. In recent years the fight against cancer has ex panded beyond traditional medical treatment. The enormous expenditures of resources in developing more powerful and sophisticated chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical procedures have yielded relatively disappointing results. Cures for a majority of cancer patients continue to elude medical investigation. The incidence of cancer is on the increase. Toxic side effects from medical treatments produce additional suffering for the patients and their families. As a result there has been a growing public dissatisfaction with orthodox medical treatment. New areas of investigation which have stimulated interest and which offer exciting new possibilities include nutri tion, elimination of environmental carcinogens, immunotherapy, and psychological components of malignancy. In these new developments cancer as a disease entity is conceptualized in a more holistic framework. Malignancy is not only a disease of the body, but also encompasses the total person as well as the person’s environment. It is this growing awareness of the complex nature of cancer that has led to the development of new approaches which, when used in conjunction with medical interven tion, promise a more comprehensive and more effective treatment model.
