Hematology and the Derivation of Psychosomatic Concepts

During the past 25 years, Dr. Lawrence Young has played a major role in the evolution of the Medical-Psychatric Liaison Unit at the University of Rochester and in development of new psychsomatic concepts. Investigations of patients with leukemia and lymphoma highlighted the occurrence of separation and loss in the prodromal period of the illness, perphaps serving as precipitating role in its manifest development. Study of these fatally ill patients required scrutiny and clarification of the dying process through the past two decades. Similarly, consideration of accompanying emotional distress in patients' family members necessitated attention to the manifestations of grief.