The team approach offers the best form of therapy due to its inclusive and multidisciplinary nature that focuses on mind and body support. Role of the Patient Only when patients take responsibility for their state of mind, nutritional status and physical fitness can their needs be fully expressed, assessed, and fulfilled. The act of taking responsibility is in itself an important factor in promoting patient self-esteem, independence, and ability to cope with illness. It can make the difference between continued good health or illness and chronic disability. Empowering the patient is a crucial part of getting well, surviving longer and living a more fulfilling life.
Many patients find it devastating to cope and often become desperate and depressed.
Patients often do not know what to do next and can experience treatment as a dehumanizing process as they grapple with therapeutic alternatives, six-syllable drug names, and treatment schedules. The patient's anxieties and fears of the probability of a potentially fatal outcome complicate the treatment process. Many of these fears are often fed by the patient's beliefs in the myths of cancer rather than by knowledge of the facts. Patient education on various topics related to cancer helps to relieve this stress. With this in mind, the CSCP has developed an introductory four-part lecture series of supportive care lectures, workshops and educational modules to address problems and subjects related to disease and therapy.