Suicide Screening in the Oncology Population

© 2016 Harborside Press® Registered nurses spend more time with patients than other health-care workers and are in a prime position to detect and prevent suicidal behaviors in patients, but Valente (2010) found that oncology nurses had more difficulty in caring for suicidal patients because of their commitment to preserving life. Although a relatively rare event, suicide increases in patients with the diagnosis of cancer (Misono, Weiss, Fann, Redman, & Yueh, 2008). Shneidman (1985) defined suicide as “the conscious act of self-induced annihilation, best understood as a multidimensional malaise in a needful individual who defines an issue for which the act is perceived as the best solution.” It is not random or pointless but a release from an issue or crisis that produces intense suffering (Kaplan & Sadock, 1998). The most common mental illness found in cancer-related suicide cases is depression (75%; de la Grandmaison, Watier, Cavard, & Charlier, 2014). The prevalence of depression among patients with cancer is between 5% and 16% (Walker et al., 2013). Since fatigue and depression occur concurrently, fatigue can be a cue for practitioners to investigate for depression (Rhondali et al., 2012). Multiple studies have identified a higher risk factor for suicide during the first months after a cancer diagnosis as well as 1 year after (Anguiano, Mayer, Piven, & Rosenstein, 2012).