Emotional distress, anxiety and shock go hand in hand with a health crisis - particularly a cancer diagnosis. Psychological intervention can be as necessary as other medical procedures.
Understanding health from both a medical and psychological perspective is the focus of the University of Sydney's new Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED).
"There's an increasing recognition of the need for multidisciplinary input," said Professor Phyllis Butow, Chair of Psychology and director of the Medical Psychology Research Unit.
CeMPED will "bring together people who are interested in medicine, in psychology and in prevention and screening," she said. .
The co-directors of CeMPED are Professor Butow (Psychology), Professor Martin Tattersall (Medicine) and Associate Professor Alexandra Barratt (Public Health).The centre grew out of two established research groups within the University, the Medical Psychology Research Unit and the Sydney Health Decision Group.A current collaboration is an examination of how evidence is communicated to patients. "Most medical decisions are based on a whole range of studies. But for people to make real choices about their health care, they need to understand that evidence and how to weigh it up," Professor Butow explained.
"To have this cross-faculty centre is quite novel and innovative. We have psychologists, nurses, doctors, public health professionals - a whole range of people. We also have a lot of students doing projects with us. We have a close collaboration with the Sydney Cancer Centre and our physical proximity to the hospital is a great strength.
"There is a growing appreciation that that's the way you get really interesting, innovative work - when you bring in ideas from different perspectives."
The centre was launched at the Sydney Cancer Conference 2008.
By Elizabeth Heath
usyd.au
As expected, the study found that women with a high Gail score had a 35 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to women with a lower Gail score. But the study also found a 25 percent increase in the risk of developing the disease with each unit increase in total hip bone mineral density t-score. While the two scores were independent of each other, women who had the highest scores on both assessments had a much higher risk in breast cancer.
The findings suggest that adding bone mineral density to currently used risk assessment tools may significantly improve the prediction of breast cancer risk. "Future studies should investigate whether incorporating bone mineral density and Gail score with other risk factors, such as breast density, can further improve the identification of women at high risk for developing breast cancer," the authors wrote. This study also suggests that bone mineral density is a potential alternative for predicting breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women if Gail score is not available. Additional studies are needed to determine if the results from this investigation are applicable to a broader group of women, including minorities. The findings do not change the use of bone mineral density testing to diagnose osteoporosis or the need to treat osteoporosis in order to reduce the risk of fractures.
Article: "Hip bone density predicts breast cancer risk independently of Gail score - results from the Women's Health Initiative." Zhao Chen, Leslie Arendell, Mikel Aickin, Jane Cauley, Cora E. Lewis, and Rowan Chlebowski. CANCER; Published Online: July 28, 2008 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.23674); Print Issue Date: September 1, 2008.
canceronline.wiley/