Online stress management program for cancer patients

Cancer patients: Online program improves quality of life

The diagnosis of cancer is a huge psychological burden for those affected. But by no means all cancer patients receive psychological support. A new study now shows that an online stress management program can significantly improve the quality of life of those affected.

Online stress management program for cancer patients

A cancer always means a considerable burden on the psyche. According to the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), about 30 percent of all cancer patients suffer from a mental illness. A cancer diagnosis is a shock for all concerned, in the management of which professional help is advisable. Unfortunately, many patients do not receive psychological support. An online stress management program can significantly improve the quality of life. This is now shown in a study by researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel, which appeared in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology".

A cancer always means a considerable burden on the psyche. Therapies should therefore be associated with psychological support. An online stress management program can significantly improve the quality of life of those affected. (Image: BillionPhotos.com/fotolia.com)

Mental stress affects the quality of life

The psychological stress of a cancer affects the quality of life and can also have a negative effect on the therapy and the course of the disease.

For example, some researchers from the University of Brighton (UK) have found in a study that stress can lower the effectiveness of cancer drugs.

Therefore, according to experts, cancer treatments should be combined with psychological support, but today this is by no means a reality for all concerned.

Especially in the difficult time immediately after the diagnosis, only a minority is supported psychologically professional.

Actively reduce stress

In order to reach people with cancer in this difficult situation and offer them a low-threshold opportunity to deal with the burden, researchers from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel have developed the online stress management program STREAM ("actively reducing stress").

For more than eight weeks, patients will learn how to manage cancer management through information, individual exercises and specific guidance on how to manage cancer.

To do this, they log in via a personal, anonymous access. Once a week, a written exchange with a psychologist takes place via an integrated e-mail platform.

First study in German-speaking countries

A study now shows that the web-based counseling and care offer significantly improved the quality of life of those affected and that the stress experienced was significantly reduced.

A total of 129 patients from Switzerland, Germany and Austria were assigned to an intervention or control group within 12 weeks of starting their cancer treatment.

The latter received access to the program only after an eight-week waiting period, which allowed the two groups to be compared.

The persons who had completed the STREAM program (mostly breast cancer patients) assessed their quality of life significantly better than the control group.

The negative stress, measured on a scale of 0 to 10, also decreased significantly more in the online group than in the control group.

Assist newly diagnosed cancer patients efficiently

"The results show that web-based self-help with regular e-mail contact with the psychologist has the potential to efficiently support newly diagnosed cancer patients and thus significantly improve their treatment," commented Prof. Dr. med. Viviane Hess, Professor of Medical Oncology and Chief Oncologist in Basel in a Communication.

In addition to the previous offers, the online program opens up new opportunities to support those who have not been reached so far.

"The digital natives are approaching the age at which the risk of age-related diseases like cancer is rising. This is one of the reasons why approaches to the integration of the Internet into patient care will continue to gain in importance, "says Viviane Hess. (Ad)