Depression has been repeatedly found to have a major impact on quality of life in people with medical conditions like cancer. But only a minority of cancer patients with major depression receive adequate treatment. ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’ has been developed by PMR to address this problem. A specially trained cancer nurse, supervised by a psychiatrist, supplements the patient’s usual care. The nurse monitors the patient’s symptoms and liaises with their GP and cancer team to coordinate their depression care. The nurse also provides a brief psychological treatment.

Aim:
To find out if ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’ can be better than usual care in treating major depression in cancer patients.

Description:
A 200 patient efficacy trial with outcomes at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Status:
Completed and published.

Funding: