Psychological Impact of a Sophrological Accompaniment During the Announcement of Thyroid Cancer

Overview

Follicular thyroid cancers are excellent prognoses. However, there is a very clear negative impact of the diagnosis on patients' quality of life, partly because of initial care. The therapeutic sequence is often the following: surgery and complementary administration of radioactive iodine 131. This treatment will destroy all thyroid cells remaining and thus minimize the risk of recurrence and facilitate future controls. Radioactive iodine uptake is optimized by stimulating thyroid cells that fix iodine better when the level of TSH is high. For this purpose, hypothyroidism is induced by weaning in hormone replacement therapy or injected with recombinant TSH. Then, a full-body scintigraphy extension is performed followed by a medical consultation. This scintigraphy shows the tissues that fixed the iodine 131, the residual tissues after surgery and / or possible distant metastases. It is recognized that when a patient learns that he has thyroid cancer, he is subject to increasing anxiety between the time of diagnosis and post-treatment scintigraphy. These patients and their loved ones are often distraught and anticipate their future in a negative way, while long-term survival is excellent. How to get these patients to consider their pathology more objectively and thus reduce their anxiety? Sophrology is a psychocorporal method aimed at balancing our emotions, thoughts and behaviors. We suppose that if these patients could benefit from a sophrological accompaniment between the announcement of the diagnosis and the scintigraphy, they could apprehend their pathology with more serenity and reality. No studies providing sophrological support to patients with thyroid cancer have been performed. The anxiety of these patients being largely linked to a feeling of isolation and excessive danger, we think that this care will have an immediate favorable effect on their anxiety, or even in the longer term on their quality of life. The aim is to offer patients a sophrological support provided by each of the 3 participating centers. These group sessions will allow them to understand the place of their future hospitalization, to share with other patients, to obtain answers to their questions, to be listened to with neutrality and empathy, and to learn management techniques. their anxiety in order to reproduce them at home. They will be followed and will not feel abandoned in the face of their distress.

Follicular thyroid cancers are excellent prognoses (\> 90% survival at all stages at 10 years). They occur preferentially in women where they represent the 5th cause of cancer and less than 0.5% of the causes of cancer mortality. However, there is a very clear negative impact of the diagnosis on patients' quality of life, partly because of initial care. The therapeutic sequence is often the following: surgery and complementary administration of radioactive iodine 131. This treatment will destroy all thyroid cells (normal or cancerous) remaining and thus minimize the risk of recurrence and facilitate future controls (the blood test of thyroglobulin produced only by the thyroid cells can be used as a marker of persistence / recurrence of the disease). Radioactive iodine uptake is optimized by stimulating thyroid cells that fix iodine better when the level of TSH is high. For this purpose, hypothyroidism is induced by weaning in hormone replacement therapy or injected with recombinant TSH. Approximately one week after iodine-131, a full-body scintigraphy extension is performed followed by a medical consultation. This scintigraphy shows the tissues that fixed the iodine 131, the residual tissues after surgery and / or possible distant metastases. It is recognized that when a patient learns that he has thyroid cancer, he is subject to increasing anxiety between the time of diagnosis and post-treatment scintigraphy. These patients and their loved ones are often distraught and anticipate their future in a negative way, while long-term survival is excellent. How to get these patients to consider their pathology more objectively and thus reduce their anxiety? Sophrology is a psychocorporal method aimed at balancing our emotions, thoughts and behaviors. We suppose that if these patients could benefit from a sophrological accompaniment between the announcement of the diagnosis and the scintigraphy, they could apprehend their pathology with more serenity and reality. Previous work has already demonstrated the interest of sophrology in different situations such as the management of cancer patients, before performing a bronchial fibroscopy, a ventilation session as part of the management of cancer. neuropathic pain, but also in the elderly and finally in people cared for infertility. No studies providing sophrological support to patients with thyroid cancer have been performed. The anxiety of these patients being largely linked to a feeling of isolation and excessive danger, we think that this care will have an immediate favorable effect on their anxiety, or even in the longer term on their quality of life. The aim is to offer patients a sophrological support provided by each of the 3 participating centers (CHU Marseille, Institut Claudius Regaud Toulouse, Center Jean Perrin Clermont-Ferrand). These group sessions will allow them to understand the place of their future hospitalization, to share with other patients, to obtain answers to their questions, to be listened to with neutrality and empathy, and to learn management techniques. their anxiety in order to reproduce them at home. They will be followed and will not feel abandoned in the face of their distress.