Starting talk therapy right after a cancer diagnosis was linked to longer life

Dr. Edmund Qiao of UC San Diego followed more than 254,000 Americans aged 66 and older who had been diagnosed with five common cancers. Depression raised their risk of dying from the cancer by 24% — and nearly two-thirds received no mental-health care in the first eight weeks. But patients who began talk therapy within a week of diagnosis had a 27% lower risk of dying from their cancer (14% lower even when therapy started within eight weeks). The findings, presented at a major cancer conference in Boston, show a link rather than proof of cause — but the researchers' message is simple: ask your care team for emotional support early, because it's part of cancer care.