Development of a digital psychological therapy program for pediatric cancer patients (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED Psychotherapy for cancer patients is currently gaining attention in South Korea. The fact that depression and anxiety disorders in cancer patients have been proven to worsen cancer prognosis has had a major impact on the surge in academic interest. In this regard, the Cancer Stress Clinic has been established at the Seoul Asan Medical Center, and the medical community has established a new field of psycho-oncology to study psychotherapy for cancer patients. Despite this interest, only 9% of Korean hospitals actually implement psychotherapy for cancer patients. In this study, we propose VR-based digital therapy as a way to deliver psychotherapy to more patients. In addition, we propose improving patients' understanding of therapy as a methodology for psychological stabilization. Since patients' distrust and nervousness about treatment are related to persistent psychological anxiety, learning breathing exercises for treatment understanding and pain relief are established as additional objectives.In this study, we selected pediatric cancer patients who are familiar with digital devices and require ongoing emotional support after treatment. Here is an overview of the proposed program Patients will be able to utilize VR devices to conduct counseling sessions with a digital human implemented in Unreal Engine. During the counseling process, the patient can select content such as art therapy, meditation content, and pain relief training. By working through the content, patients can improve their understanding of pain management methods and treatment, which can reduce anxiety. Finally, the program can be further developed to provide diagnostic reports to doctors.