The development and impact of a new Psychosocial Oncology Program

Cancer patients and their families face multiple psychosocial challenges when coping with illness, including emotional distress. The inability to detect and respond appropriately to these needs lead to greater suffering. Consistent with the philosophy of comprehensive care, innovative psychosocial oncology programs need to be created in meeting these complex needs. The purpose of this short communication is to share the experience of developing a new Psychosocial Oncology Program at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. Various challenges and lessons have been learned in the process and are described in this report.