The complexities of depression in cancer

For many people, cancer is now survivable and has become a long term condition, and depression and anxiety are more common in cancer survivors than in the general population. Despite this, 73% of patients don't receive effective psychiatric treatment. Alexandra Pitman, consultant liaison psychiatrist at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Andrew Hodgkiss, consultant liaison psychiatrist, at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience join us to dispel some of the concern clinicians may have about the complexities of diagnosing depression in cancer - what is biopsychosocial, what is the organic result of the cancer or treatment - and some of the concern about treatment interactions. Read the two education articles: https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1415 https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1488