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Clinical assessment of depression in terminally ill cancer patients: A practical guide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2006

HAYLEY PESSIN ,
MEGAN OLDEN ,
COLLEEN JACOBSON  and
ANNE KOSINSKI
HAYLEY PESSIN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
MEGAN OLDEN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, USA
COLLEEN JACOBSON
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
ANNE KOSINSKI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
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Abstract

Depression is commonly experienced by cancer patients at the end of life. The identification of patients suffering from depression is essential to provide clinicians with an opportunity to relieve considerable suffering. However, the assessment of depressive symptoms is complex and often challenging in a terminally ill cancer population. This article offers practical guidelines to assist clinicians with the diagnosis of depression, reviews the defining symptoms of depression and their unique presentation in patients at the end of life, suggests modifications of the standard diagnostic interview, and provides examples of specific assessment questions to target depressive symptoms at the end of life.

Keywords

DepressionAssessmentPalliative careCancerEnd of lifeTerminally ill
Type
REVIEW ARTICLES
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 319 - 324
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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