Cancer and the Dying Patient
LEONARD J. HERTZBERG M.D.1
1 Adolescent Family Division, Department of Psychiatry, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Inc.
The author, who has been the consulting psychiatrist on a cancer ward, outlines the fears and other problems faced by patients and staff on such a ward and describes his activities. He believes the psychiatrist in this setting can be most helpful by developing vehicles to enhance staff understanding so that the staff need not maintain avoidance techniques. Group meetings with patients' families also appear to be a promising approach.
