Himanshu Roy’s Death: How Serious Illnesses Impact Mental Health

Dr Sameer Kaul says that psychological support is of utmost importance in any disease whether it’s terminal or not.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Himanshu Roy, a senior and renowned Mumbai police officer and former chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, reportedly shot himself on Friday. A suicide note has been recovered.

The IPS officer was battling cancer that was reportedly at an advanced stage. Mumbai Police has said that Roy was suffering from depression due to his illness.

Mental healthcare is a huge part of treatment for patients suffering from debilitating illnesses. Dr Sameer Kaul, Head of Cancer Surgery, Apollo Hospital, says that psychological support is of utmost importance in any disease whether it’s terminal or not. Palliative care, when treatment is over and there’s nothing more that can be done, is not the only time when we should focus on mental health in a patient.

Throughout the treatment, right from diagnosis, you need psychological support and therapy. Any disease whether it’s terminal or not affects the patient. But psychological effects are most pronounced in patients with illnesses like cancer, where the battle is long and tough and has a perception of ending in fatality.

Dr Sameer Kaul, Oncologist, Delhi

Despite various treatment options available, the popular perception is that cancer can end in death or disability. This can lead to extreme anxiety or depression.

Data shows that 20 percent of the population suffers from depression. But the moment there is a medical condition involved, the number rises to 40 percent. That means close to half the people with severe medical conditions suffer from depression.

Dr Shobhana Mittal, Psychiatrist, Cosmos Institute of Mental Health & Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS)

This stems from the patient worrying about their future, about the harrowing treatment that they will have to undergo, about social taboos, and also about the money required for treatment, says Dr Kaul.

He adds that there’s loss of self-worth as well sometimes and an illness like cancer can be testing for the family and relationships of the patient.

This psychological impact needs to be recognised by the oncologist or doctor carrying out the treatment. Either the oncologist provides them and their families with mental health support in their regular interactions or you have a onco-psychologist who takes care of that.

Dr Sameer Kaul

We need to increase the conversation around first the disease itself and the mental health issues surrounding it. Besides depression and anxiety, many patients also show symptoms similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For many, psychological effects of the battle with cancer begin only after the treatment ends.

Even after the treatment is finished and the patient is in remission, one has to keep in touch with the patient and assess what’s happening with mental health otherwise you lose the patient, says Dr Kaul.