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Coping with the Unthinkable: Psychosocial Advances in the Management of Primary Brain Tumour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2016

Tamara Ownsworth
Tamara Ownsworth*
Affiliation:
School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: A/Prof Tamara Ownsworth, School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, 4122, Australia. Ph: +61 73735 3307; Fax: +61 73735 3388. E-mail: t.ownsworth@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

Brain cancer is a complex and distressing illness with a typically poor prospect for survival. Worldwide, approximately 256,000 people (1800 in Australia) are diagnosed each year (Ferlay, Soerjomataram & Ervik, 2013). Cancer of the brain poses a double threat – to one's survival and sense of self. Most people with primary brain tumour develop serious neuro-cognitive symptoms (e.g., seizures, memory loss) and experience poor mental health and quality of life, which places enormous burden on family care givers. Not surprisingly, high rates of psychological distress have been reported by people with brain tumour and their family care givers. Psychological distress can persist beyond primary treatment, and often increases in the long-term phase of illness due to the perceived threat and experience of recurrence and functional decline. Over the last decade, there have been many advances in the psychosocial management of people with brain tumour. This paper provides an overview of the functional, psychological and social consequences of brain tumour, summarises some leading developments in psychological assessment and management, and outlines future directions in intervention research.

Keywords

Primary brain tumourpsychosocial managementneuro-cognitive symptomsmental healthcoping
Type
ASSBI Presidential Address 2016
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , December 2016 , pp. 265 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2016 

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