Abstract

CARVALLO, MARÍA ALEJANDRA; URBANI, SUSANA  and  SERVICIO DE RADIOTERAPIA Y MEDICINA NUCLEAR. HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARIO DE CARACAS. Experiencia de la unidad  de psicooncología del servicio de radioterapia y medicina nuclear. Rev. venez. oncol. [online]. 2007, vol.19, n.2, pp.162-165. ISSN 0798-0582.

OBJECTIVES: With the purpose of offering psychological, psycho-educative support to oncology patients and its relatives, as well as personnel who works at the Service of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine of University Hospital of Caracas the Unit of Psycho-oncology was created. METHODS: The academic and assistance activities developed by Unit are described, that consist of psychiatry classes, psychology internships supervisions, support in elaboration of thesis, individual and they family psychotherapy, participation in clinical and beginning meetings and support to the oncology team. RESULTS: Of assistance activities that are carried out, patients seen from February of 2004 to July of 2006 were registered, which they include 630 first-visit patients 1 687 of successive visits, of which 23.3 % are family members. Was observed a greater frequency of women patients (77.3 %) and mostly come from the capital region (67.0 %). The most frequently medical diagnosis was breast cancer (43.4%), followed by uterine cancer (19.6%) and cerebral tumors (11.0 %), among others. Between the psychiatric pathologies a greater prevalence of mood disorders was observed, between which point out the adjustment disorder (22.2 %), bereavement (18.3 %), depressive episode  (16.9 %) and dysthymic disorder (9.4 %), as well as sleep disorder (5.6 %) and cognitive disorder (4.2 %) among others. CONCLUSION: The experience of the Unit and the knowledge of the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in patients of the Service will allow taking measures to evaluate guidelines for integrative and early interventions to our patients.

Keywords : Psycho-oncology; psychiatric disorder.