Posts by author
Adrian Pogacian
Beyond Treatment: Why Psycho-Oncological Education Matters for Patients and Their Caregivers
"Cancer is part of a person's life, but it should never become their entire identity." That simple yet powerful observation from global cancer advocate Carmen Monge-Montero captures a growing recognition in oncology: treating cancer successfully requires more than surgery, chemotherapy,…
Between Theory and Bedside: What Early Palliative Care in Singapore Reveals About Cancer, Care, and the Limits of Knowledge
On paper, cancer care can be mapped, measured, and modelled. In practice, it is far less contained. For Charis Ng, a trainee health psychologist and PhD student, that gap between theory and lived reality became impossible to ignore during her…
After the Bell: Rethinking Cancer Care Beyond Treatment
As cancer survival improves, a critical gap persists: the period after treatment, where psychological distress, identity disruption, and unmet needs remain insufficiently addressed in routine oncology care. A System Designed for Treatment, Not Transition “We have to be next to…
Psycho-Oncology at a Crossroads: From Global Recognition to Real-World Impact
The launch of World Psycho-Oncology Day signals growing momentum behind psychosocial care in cancer, but without structural change, millions of patients will continue to go without the support they need. With the announcement of World Psycho-Oncology Day (WPOD), to be…
Lived Experience of People Affected by Cancer
Too Much Hope is a False Hope K. still remembers the moment she heard the diagnosis. The room felt suddenly smaller, the air heavier, and time strangely suspended. “You wake up in a void, alone and scared,” she says. “But…
“United by Unique” – Does it Really Make a Difference, or is it Just a Cliché?
“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”— Albert Camus People at the Centre of Care “United by Unique” is the World Cancer Day theme for 2025–2027. This year, the focus is on placing people at the…
Does Uncertainty Inherently Cause Burnout Among Oncology Care Providers?
Oncology is both one of the most inspiring and one of the most demanding fields in medicine. Unlike other specialties, the emotional and professional boundaries in oncology are often blurred. Many of us feel that our lives are devoted to…
What About Them, the Caregivers?
“The anticipatory fear that I had became reality when the doctor said that my 6-year-old son must undergo chemotherapy…the rest of the explanation I didn’t hear due to the shock that I had, even though I am a radiology nurse…
Can Healing and Growth Coexist? Post-Traumatic Transformation in Cancer Patients
When Ana, a confident assistant manager at a multinational corporation, walked into my counseling office, she was no longer the poised professional her colleagues knew. “I was never meant to be a mother,” she whispered, eyes shadowed by uncertainty and…
(Re)Thinking Psycho-oncology in a world out of balance: What I learned after a year of interviews
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy" Albert Camus Why me? This is probably the present-day question of every patient with cancer! One of the consequences of our chaotic reality is cancer, which belongs to that class of diseases that impacts the…