|
I am glad to hear from so many people who have resources available to them, it is really a relief. I suspect that there are many though who were not treated at a major cancer center, or who are isolated due to distance from treatment centers, who do not have such access. For example, although I live in a major metropolitan area with cancer centers competing for patients, I chose to be treated largely outside that system, with a surgeon who takes no insurance and an oncologist who has a private practice (for rads, of course, since no private rad oncs can afford their own accelerators, I did go to a major cancer center). There was really no where along the way that I was offered or directed to counseling. Of course, counselors abound where I live, but none of the ones in private practice advertise that they specialize in counseling cancer patients, which is really what I would be looking for. I suspect the situation would be similar for patients who are treated, as the euphemism goes, "in the community setting." Delivery of services under those conditions, I suspect, is suboptimal but very necessary. IMO, these services need to be part of the basic treatment plan.
Hopeful
|