Suicide in a patient of rectal carcinoma: Exploration of psychodynamics from the suicide note

Abstract

Distress related with cancer not only impairs the quality of life and accelerates disease progression, but also causes noncancer mortality including suicide. The physical and psychological sufferings in a cancer patient are the major causes of suicide. Financial burden related to the expensive treatment of cancer further add up to the suffering of the patients as well as their family. We reported a case of rectal carcinoma, who committed suicide inside the hospital premises leaving behind a suicide note. Patient's clinical history, sociodemographic profile, and the suicide note were analyzed. The content analysis of the suicide note has been described along with an analysis of different factors associated with suicide in cancer patients in an Indian scenario. Suicide note may show the reflections of psychodynamics of suicide, hence, it needs to be included routinely during psychiatric evaluation.