New standards address social services for patients living with cancer

## What:

West Coast presentation and discussion of a new Institute of Medicine report, “Cancer Care for the Whole Patient: Meeting Psychosocial Health Needs.”

## Why:

The report, requested by Congress and the National Institutes of Health, breaks new ground in approaching the care of cancer patients. It offers 10 actions that those in the health professions should undertake to better identify and help patients who are dealing with psychological and social problems.
More than 41 percent of Americans can expect to be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime, the report says. Yet, many people living with cancer indicate that their psychosocial health care needs are not well addressed during or after treatment. The report calls for a higher standard of care in which all components of the health care system that are involved in cancer care explicitly incorporate attention to psychosocial needs into their policies and practices.

All media are invited to cover the event.

## Date:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

## Location:

UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion
Herbst Hall
1600 Divisadero Street, Second Floor
San Francisco

## Featured Speakers:

* Frank McCormick, Director, PhD, FRS, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center
* Nancy Adler, PhD, Director, Center for Health and Community, and Vice Chair, UCSF Department of Psychiatry
* Robert Hiatt, MD, PhD, Director, UCSF Population Science, and Deputy Director, UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center.
* Craig Van Dyke, MD, Chair, UCSF Department of Psychiatry
Media interested in covering the event or arranging interviews should contact Vanessa deGier at (415) 476-2557.