Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | There are 2 basic types of depression: "Situational" and "chronic". Chronic is long term, sometimes even forever, more difficult to manage and the medications have to be carefully managed and tweaked by a psychiatrist.
Some inexperienced doctors will prescribe chronic depression meds (like Prozac) when anti-anxiety meds, (like Zanax) would do the trick.
I never had a depression rating test, but as Charm said, it is a normal response to having cancer.
Get a referal to a psychiatrist - managing brain chemistry is what they do. Oftentimes cognitive therapy by a psychologist is used in conjunction with the psychiatry.
Gary Allsebrook *********************************** Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2 Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy) ________________________________________________________ "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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