How to Become a Psycho Oncologist in India?

Psycho-oncology is concerned with the psychological reactions of cancer patients, as well as their relatives and caregivers, at all phases of the disease. The psychological, behavioural, and social elements that may impact the disease process are also determined by Psycho-oncologists. The prospects of Psycho-Oncology are growing with time as it is still a new field in India. A candidate can either belong from a medical or a psychological background to pursue a career in Psycho-Oncology. To answer how to become a Psycho-Oncologist, we must understand what the subject is and its requirements.

Steps to Become a Psycho-Oncologists

There are distinct ways to pursue a career as Psycho-oncologist based on a candidate's background. But, it is very important to understand that the patients must be treated with love and respect, as they need equally as much as they need medicine to fight for their lives. Strong communication skills, excellent knowledge of human emotions, and experience help to build a successful career in Psycho-Oncology.

The following steps give us an overview to become a psycho-oncologist:

• Step 1: Meeting the Eligibility Criteria of a Psycho-Oncologist
• Step 2: Pursuing Graduation/Master's
• Step 3: Gaining Internship and Experience

Step 1: Meeting the Eligibility Criteria of a Psycho-Oncologist

A candidate who wishes to be a Psycho-Oncologist can hail from science as well as an arts background.

A candidate may pursue Science with Biology, follow it up with an MBBS degree or a graduate degree in a medical-related field, and then pursue a career in Psycho-oncology.

A candidate from other backgrounds (Arts/Commerce) can pursue graduation in Psychology and then follow it up with a career in Psycho-Oncology.

Step 2: Pursuing Graduation/Master’s

Candidates can pursue different graduation courses and post-graduation courses to become a Psycho-oncologist.

Candidates may pursue M. Phil Psychology/M.Sc/MA Psychology with a 1-year diploma in Psycho-oncology after graduation in psychology or after MBBS can become a full-time Psycho-oncologist.

Step 3: Gaining Internship and Experience

Candidates pursuing their graduation and post-graduation can look forward to doing some Internships in helping the people out. They can guide their seniors, help teachers, and gain some practical experience on the path of becoming successful Psycho-oncologists

Academic Requirements to Become a Psycho-Oncologist

The main goal of psycho-oncology is to assist and support patients with depression and anxiety while undergoing extensive and frequently painful procedures such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other treatments.

To enroll in an undergraduate psychology degree, a student must have completed 12th grade in one of their chosen fields. A potential candidate must pass 12 from a recognized board. However, because the career revolves around cancer and its treatment, it is recommended that a psycho-oncology aspirant has a science background.

There are various ways that aspiring psycho-oncologists can take. They are as follows:

• In class XII, a student might choose the scientific path and pursue MBBS. After that, they must complete a house surgency program before enrolling in a postgraduate program, such as MD in Psychiatry. They will become qualified medical doctors if they continue on this road. After that, the student can pursue an M.Phil Psycho-oncology and post-doctoral degree in Psycho-oncology.
• Those with diverse backgrounds can also acquire a psychology undergraduate degree and then specialize in psycho-oncology. A candidate must have completed graduation in the appropriate courses before enrolling in the postgraduate program, which lasts two to three years.
• For specialization, the minimum educational requirement for admission is an MA Psychology or M.Sc Psychology from a university recognized by the UGC with a minimum of 55% marks in aggregate.
• Also, candidates who have passed an undergraduate degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% and above marks in any discipline, including Nursing, Medicine, Allied Health, from any recognized University in India or abroad recognized by UGC/ AIU, are eligible to apply.
• Other training programs in psycho-oncology are also available to opt for after the Master's in psychology to pursue a career in this field.

Note: Criteria and eligibility might differ from college to college based on the background and cut-off marks.

Institutes for Psycho-Oncology

A proper institute plays an important role in shaping the career path. Various institutes are available for Psycho-Oncology spanning all across India.

They are as follows:

• COPER, Bangalore- Centre of Psycho-Oncology for Education and Research
• Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai
• The Psycho-Oncology department at Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, offers courses such as:
• PhD in Psycho-oncology (Affiliated to University of Madras)
• M.Phil in Psycho-oncology (Affiliated to the University of Madras).
• Training and Internship for psychology, oncology, and social work students at the postgraduate level.
• Project placement at the postgraduate level
• Cancer Patients Aid Association
• Christ University

Psycho-Oncologist Career in Detail

The major area of focus in psycho-oncology is to help and provide mental support for the patients to handle depression and anxiety while the patient goes through the long and often painful procedures such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc. While doing so, it is necessary to ensure that the patients are treated with love and respect, as they need equally as much they need medicine to fight for their lives.

A practicing psycho-oncologist must ensure that proper help and care are provided to the patients, and it is very important to empathize with the patients and understand their state of mind. Psycho-oncology requires a high level of seriousness and professionalism while dealing with patients as it aims at helping the patients accept the disease, dealing with the treatment procedures and side effects.

The fight against cancer is a long and painful one. The patient and their family need to remain strong through the process; a psycho-oncologist provides much-needed mental support to the patients and their families. Benefit finding is one of the key areas in which psycho-oncologists work. It's a unique way of approaching a strenuous journey of cancer survival. People associate positivity in life and the increased meaning of life.

Psycho-oncology has come a long way in India. With an ever-increasing number of survivors assuming an active part in cancer awareness, the idea of life after cancer is gradually starting to grow. Counselling the patient and the caregivers are becoming relevant as strong family support is shown to lower relapse rates and boost survival.

In the care of the patients, the role of the psycho-oncologist extends beyond the management of psychiatric symptoms and syndromes into areas that include existential issues, family and caregiver support, bereavement, doctor-patient communication, education, and training.

The services offered by a Psycho-Oncologist are:

• Distress Assessment and Evaluation
• Individual Therapy
• Marital Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Stress Management Techniques (Relaxation therapy, Guided Imagery, etc.)
• De-addiction (Tobacco Cessation, Alcohol, & other substance abuse)
• End-of-life Care
• Grief and Bereavement Counselling
• Rehabilitation counselling: Breast Prosthesis (Artificial Breast), Wigs to deal with hair loss, Stoma care etc.
• Brain Lab: Neurocognitive Assessment and Remediation

Psycho-Oncologist Salary in India

A field like psycho-oncology generally includes an expansion in the compensation with the development in experience and learning. As a psycho-oncologist, the normal pay that one will get is $58,412 in the US. It is difficult to determine the pay of this job in India as it is still a blooming profession. However, it can be estimated from INR 6 lakh to INR 10 lakh annually.

Cancer is not just about the best medical care, the best doctors, or the best medicines. There is a lot more that goes into it, such as love, understanding, optimism, and, above all, hope. No one should be subservient to life's unpredictability. It should make us stronger, wiser, and more alive.

Scope for Psycho-Oncologists in India

All the premier cancer treatment facilities across the globe have realized the importance of psycho-oncology and have integrated it into the core of the cancer treatment program. But in India, psycho-oncology is still in its infancy. As the world is realizing how important psycho-oncology is to ensure both the physical and mental wellbeing of cancer patients, during and after the treatment, a few well-known cancer institutes in India have begun to integrate psycho-oncology into their cancer treatment programs.

The demand for well-trained psycho-oncologists is expected to increase at a galloping rate in the coming years. A core group seems to be emerging to take responsibility for establishing and continuing an effective psycho-oncology service independently, linking with palliative care. Though this exists informally now, the hope is to form a national organization, which would guide, help, and sustain a psycho-oncology movement.

As a career, psycho-oncology is a very novel option in India. With the establishment of education centres like the Center of Psycho-oncology for Education and Research(COPER) coming up and creating more awareness and providing opportunities, we can expect growth in this field.