ADVANCES IN BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION IN COMPREHENSIVE CANCER-TREATMENT

This discussion reviews the current status of behavioral intervention with adult and pediatric cancer patients. The goal is to give the fron t-line clinician a basis for determining which behavioral intervention procedure to incorporate into clinical practice. After defining the t erm behavioral medicine and describing its new role in comprehensive c ancer treatment, the discussion examines the use of behavioral procedu res to control aversive side-effects of treatment. Although the contro l of chemotherapy side-effects is the primary focus (since most of the behavioral research on symptom control has dealt with reduction of na usea and vomiting with chemotherapy), the application of behavioral pr inciples to other side-effects (i.e., anxiety and pain) associated wit h the aggressive treatment of cancer is assessed. The third topic is b ehavioral intervention to control child distress during invasive proce dures. The discussion ends with a consideration of new directions of r esearch and practice.