Every year in Italy more than 250 thousand people are affected by tumor, disease often brings with it anxiety and depression : this must be taken into account in cancer hospitals Because patient is treated first as a person and not just as a patient , and then also pay particular attention to psychosocial problems.

Order in 2008 embarked on the project HUCARE (HUmanization of Cancer Care), who wants to humanize the cancer care, changing organizational structures and approach to patients. The project has five objectives very clear:

• improving communication skills in at least 75 % of doctors and nurses;

• assigning a nurse reference to 75% of patients (with mention in medical) with the task of assisting the patient in various stages of therapy providing detailed information;

• The establishment in each department of a Point of Information and Support (PIS), a service to reduce the psychological distress and improve patient satisfaction;

• Presence of psychologist with detection through a common scale validated at national level to measure the degree of anxiety and depression of psychological distress and social needs in 75 % of patients;

spreading centers of the list of ‘ key questions ‘ that the patient can turn to ‘oncologist: 70 predefined questions to facilitate discussion with your doctor early diagnostic- therapeutic in this way the patient can better understand aspects of the disease sometimes unclear.

Just as is the case with pink stickers that indicate those hospitals with special care needs of women, to achieve each goal every hospital will receive a blue dot. Then get structures that many will be those in which cancer care is more humanized, that is able to provide, in addition to appropriate cancer therapies also targeted to psychological support and social.

“All the 29 participating centers have so far received at least one blue stamp “says Professor Rodolfo Passalacqua, scientific manager of primary HUCARE and Oncology in Cremona.” The humanization is however still a long way and at the end of the trail we can assess whether the structures involved will have achieved all the objectives centered on communication between doctor and patient , information and health education and psychosocial support“.