In a call to action, Barry Bultz (2024) advocates for the “inclusion of psychosocial oncology as a standard of care for oncology programs” (p.1). Recent empirical findings indicate that patients with metastatic cancer - who were given the opportunity to share their experiences (e.g., self-report symptoms) - lived longer, experienced higher levels of quality of life, and accessed emergency care significantly less often than those who did not (Basch et al., 2017). At the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology, Harold Burstein (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) equated the impact of self-report measures on psychophysiological outcomes with those found via pharmacological treatments alone (quoted above).

The implications of this statement are not surprising to oncology psychologists and chaplains; we understand the importance and necessity of providing patient-centred psychospiritual care.

Thank you for supporting us in this call to action.