The Role of the Psycho-Oncology Multidisciplinary Tumor Board in Enhancing the Caregivers’ Well-Being for Cancer Patients

Authors

  • Urooj Hasan Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Habiba Zaheer Department of Oncology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Fabiha Shakeel Department of Radiation Oncology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Muaz Abbasi Department of Emergency Medicine, The Grange University Hospital, Llanfrechfa Cwmbran, UK.

Keywords:

Psycho-Oncology, Multidisciplinary Tumor Board, MTB, Caregiver, Cancer

Abstract

Providing care to family members with prolonged illness challenges caregivers' well-being. Cancer is not just a disease, it reshapes the life of the patient and the family of the patient. The caregivers carry a heavy and unseen burden in a low-middle-income country like Pakistan, where the cancer system is already overburdened. In a research study conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, it was observed that 64% of caregivers experienced a burden in the Mild to Moderate range [1].

Along with this, in another study, it was seen that fatigue was reported as the most challenging aspect by the caregivers providing support to patients receiving active radiotherapy and having an advanced cancer diagnosis [2], and about 40-70% of caregivers experienced symptoms of depression [3]. Despite the evidence highlighting the need to support caregivers' well-being, there remains a lack of resources. Therefore, integrating a psycho-oncology multi-disciplinary tumor board (MDT) in cancer care can play a pivotal role in the well-being of cancer patients and in reducing the burden on the caregivers [4].

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Published

26.06.2025

How to Cite

1.
Hasan U, Zaheer H, Shakeel F, Abbasi MM. The Role of the Psycho-Oncology Multidisciplinary Tumor Board in Enhancing the Caregivers’ Well-Being for Cancer Patients. Nat J Health Sci [Internet]. 2025 Jun. 26 [cited 2025 Sep. 12];10(2):66-8. Available from: https://ojs.njhsciences.com/index.php/njhs/article/view/769

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Perspective

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Urooj Hasan, Habiba Zaheer, Fabiha Shakeel, Muhammad Muaz Abbasi (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.