RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Pancreatic cancer is a major site of gastrointestinal tumors and remains a leading cause of cancer death in adults in the United States. There is also a strong association between pancreatic cancer and depression. When struggling with cancer, along the different phases of illness, a human being is confronted with manifold issues, which might profoundly interfere with their sense of meaning and purpose. METHODS: From this standpoint, several different therapeutic techniques have been designed to manage the psychological needs of the patients. Here we provide 2 clinical scenarios, where there was a strong religious correlation to the therapeutic techniques employed with patients suffering from pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: The 2 cases described showed some improvement in their overall life view and could recalibrate their expectations based on a strong religious foundation. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The role of religion and spirituality in health has also received increasing attention in literature. Religion and spirituality can help patients with cancer find meaning in their illness, provide comfort in the face of existential fears, and receive support from a community of like-minded individuals. In effect, they also provide evidence toward the scope of and integrating the domain of spirituality into holistic cancer care.
Asunto(s)
Neoplasias Pancreáticas , Unio , Adulto , Animales , Humanos , Estados Unidos , Espiritualidad , Depresión/etiología , Depresión/terapia , Religión , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/complicaciones , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/terapia , Adaptación Psicológica , Neoplasias PancreáticasRESUMEN
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is increasingly recognized and co-present in patients with cancer. Unfortunately, OUD is not addressed or treated adequately in oncology settings. In addition, patients with cancer-related pain treated with narcotic pain medications are at risk for nonmedical opioid use (NMOU). More than two-thirds of patients with advanced cancer have pain. Both OUD and NMOU need to be concomitantly addressed alongside cancer-related pain management to avoid complications such as overdose. We review the approach to identifying and treating OUD and NMOU in patients with cancer and cancer-related pain.