Oh, What a Surprise: Cancer Patients Need Support!

Brace yourselves for a groundbreaking revelation from the world of medical research: patients with serious illnesses, like cancer, actually benefit from something called psychosocial care. Who would’ve thought, right? And hold onto your hats, because this shocker is coming from a place where it’s not all that common—Vietnam, a low- to middle-income country.

Researchers, in a stunning display of deductive reasoning, decided to assess the quality of life (QOL) of Vietnamese cancer patients. They also looked into fun side activities like depression, anxiety, and the ever-popular caregiver burden. They did this through the most personal of personal touches: face-to-face and phone interviews. Because nothing says “I care” like a good old questionnaire.

Using the European Quality of Life scale version 5D (EQ5D), they discovered—wait for it—the QOL was poor. But don’t worry, it’s not like it’s a surprise; it’s “consistent with other studies of cancer patients.” Phew, for a moment there, we thought we were dealing with an anomaly.

And because we’re all about the numbers, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) showed that anxiety and depression were as prevalent as cat videos on the internet. Meanwhile, a third of caregivers were feeling the burn(out), which is just a delightful cherry on top of this sundae of sadness.

But fear not, for the researchers have a solution! They’ve conjured up a comprehensive palliative care (CPC) service, complete with social work, to improve the QOL for these patients. Because, you know, it’s not like we knew that people with life-threatening diseases needed emotional and social support. Oh wait, we did.

In conclusion, the study confirms what we’ve known all along but apparently needed to state again: cancer patients could really use some help beyond the physical. And Vietnam is stepping up its game. Applause, everyone.