An overview of psychosocial support services. Resources for healing

Cancer has the potential of threatening all of a person's resources: physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and economic. It is as if the experience of cancer takes on a life cycle of its own that starts with the shock of diagnosis and continues well beyond the completion of treatment. Psychosocial support services of various types need to be made available throughout the cancer experience. Participation in these services affords people the opportunity to learn positive coping skills, to recognize that they are not alone, to discover how to enjoy living in the present, and to attach a different meaning to the words "hope" and "healing." Restoring a sense of wholeness to one's mind, body, and spirit is equally as important as receiving the most effective therapy for the cancer.