Tidelines

This is part of series of columns on the doctor/cancer patient relationship by Seabrook resident Dr. Roy Sessions, MD, and Fellow of the American Council of Surgeons.

For some time we have discussed matters that swirl around cancer related topics, and today’s topic – suicide – while seeming to be a departure, is actually relevant because cancer victims have a significantly higher rate of suicide then their healthy counterparts. To some of the readership, this may seem like a visit to the dark side, but you have stayed with me through a number of blogs about the scariest of maladies – cancer – and one of the consistent themes throughout my writings has been that honest dialogue, realistic information seeking, and avoidance of false optimism and conversely desperate pessimism are all components of an intelligent and educated approach to the problem.  So it is with suicide – sweeping matters under the rug is unwise, and psychologically myopic!  My childhood was distorted by a family suicide that affected me immensely.  Superstition and a “stiff upper lip” were in full play in the Sessions’ household – failure to deal with and discuss feelings led to issues that would haunt me throughout my adult life.  It wasn’t until much later that I finally dealt with those demons. Wow! What a relief it was to dump that ballast.  My own issues aside, come with me now to think about and discuss this subject – after-all, it’s sometimes a part of the life experience, and an important part of the overall cancer discussion. This essay series has mostly dealt with cancer-related matters, and this writing will continue in that vein by linking the subject of suicide to that disease; however, in order to understand this subset of patients, the reader should first consider suicide generically.

Continue reading “Guest Columnist Dr. Roy Sessions, M.D. – Suicide”