Suicide in Cancer Patients

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  • がん患者における自殺
  • ガン カンジャ ニ オケル ジサツ

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<p>The incidence of suicide in cancer patients may be twice as high as the rate of suicide in the general population. One study has shown that the risk of suicide in patients with cancer is highest in the first months after diagnosis, and that this risk decreases significantly over decades. Passive suicidal thoughts are fairly common in patients with cancer. The relationships among suicidal tendency and the desire for hastened death, requests for physician-assisted suicide, and/or euthanasia are complicated and poorly understood. Despite a relatively rare event, healthcare providers should be aware that having a diagnosis of cancer increases the risk for suicide. More specifically, prostate, lung, pancreatic, and head and neck cancer ; male sex ; older adult ; recent diagnosis ; and depression have all been associated with an increased incidence of suicide. The reactions of health care providers to the suicide are similar to those seen in family members, although caregivers often do not feel they have the right to express their feelings. Thomas Joiner of Florida State University put forth such a theory : the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior. The theory states that, in order to die by suicide, an individual must develop high levels of three specific variables : a sense of thwarted belongingness, a perception of functioning as a burden on others, and the acquired capability for suicide. The first two variables, thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, comprise the desire for suicide. Again, identifying and treating distress in the cancer patients could not only decrease the risk of suicide but also improve a quality of life.</p>

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