Cancer patient criticises lack of mental health support for terminal illness

A cancer patient has shared how she was wrongly told she had just a few months to live.

Writing for the Daily Express in support of its Cancer Care campaign, Melanie Lucas explained how she discovered her terminal diagnosis through the NHS app and called for better mental health support for those facing cancer.

Terminally ill patients like Melanie could be eligible for assisted suicide if legislation is passed to allow such patients deemed to have less than six months to live to receive help to kill themselves. The Bill has been championed by the Express come in for strong criticism from doctors, who have highlighted that giving accurate prognoses is incredibly difficult.

Lack of support

Melanie said her path to a correct diagnosis left her feeling scared and anxious: “I was originally told I had metastatic lung cancer with a dire prognosis of just months – a fact I discovered on my NHS app in a note from my GP’s surgery.”

She continued: “my GP noted I would now need extra support. I’m still waiting. Even though at this point, I believed I would be dead by Christmas.”

She was later diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, which is incurable but treatable: “receiving my correct diagnosis – and a better prognosis – was an incredible relief”.

Melanie concluded: “I am lost for words about the lack of mental health support for those of us living with cancer. Without proper support, the whole arena is terrifying.”

Help not harm

The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) announced this month that it cannot support Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill.

In a statement, RCPsych outlined a number of concerns, and said that “Assisted dying/Assisted suicide (AD/AS) is not a treatment”, adding: “AD/AS does not aim to improve a person’s health and its intended consequence is death. The Bill does not specify whether AD/AS is considered a treatment option and this ambiguity has major implications in law in England and Wales. Should this Bill proceed, it should be explicit that AD/AS is not a treatment option.”

Dr Annabel Price, who has been examining the Leadbeater Bill for the RCPsych, said: “The College has spent decades focused on preventing people from dying by suicide. A significant part of our engagement on this Bill to date has been to point out that people with terminal physical illnesses are more likely to have depression.

“Terminal illness is a risk factor for suicide, and unmet needs can make a person’s life feel unbearable. But we know that if a person’s situation is improved or their symptoms treated, then their wish to end their life sooner often changes.”