Ep 37: Talking with patients about sad, bad and difficult things

This is Episode 37 of PsychCrunch, the podcast of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

[Content warning: This episode centres around cancer. As such, it makes references to medical events and themes that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.]

In the face of significant medical challenges, we would all hope for compassionate, informative communication from medical professionals and those close to us. Sometimes, though, the reality falls short of that expectation.

This episode, Editor of The Psychologist, Dr Jon Sutton, meets Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield, Director of the Sussex Health Outcomes Research and Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) group at the University of Sussex.

Through their conversation, our guest shares personal reflections on her career at the cutting edge of psycho-oncology, improving the experiences of those with cancer by creating new ways to measure difficult things, and forging new paths to help people talk about the disease.

Episode Credits:

Hosted by Dr Jon Sutton. Mixed and edited by Jeff Knowler. Edited by Emma Barratt.

Missed previous episodes? Get up to date via our PsychCrunch collection page.

Want to learn more about psycho-oncology?

Check out The Psychologist’s article on the SHORE-C group's recent film 'They just don't know what to say or do'.

Or browse our collection of articles on psychology and cancer, with comment from Dr Mike Rennoldson, Chair of the DCP Faculty for Oncology and Palliative Care.

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology

Routledge Psychology is part of the Taylor & Francis Group, and publishing partner for the BPS Core Textbooks Series. Browse over 5 million articles, and related books. BPS members are entitled to a 25% discount on all books published by Routledge – find your discount code here and visit the dedicated BPS Member page at Routledge here.