Disabilities from cancer linked to depression

From ABC News in Australia:

A new study has found that for cancer survivors a health-related disability has a much larger impact on a person's psychological well-being than cancer itself.

The study by public health body the Sax Institute has been published in today's Medical Journal of Australia.

Professor Emily Banks from the Australian National University and the Sax Institute says the study asked 90,000 people across Australia about their health.

She says of those who reported having had a significant cancer, there was a high risk of depression and anxiety for people with a disability.

"Among those who had cancer, those who needed help with daily tasks, those who had a significant health-related disability, actually had between a 500 per cent and an 800 per cent increase in the risk of psychological distress," she said.

Professor Banks says the good news is that for those cancer survivors who were physically able, there was only a slightly higher risk of psychological distress than the general population, showing people are adaptable.