Annual Report 2024
Appearance Support Center
Shoko Toma, Tomomi Kobayashi, Ayako Koike, Naoya Yamazaki (Joint appointment in the Department of Dermatologic Oncology), Akira Takahashi (Joint appointment in the Department of Dermatologic Oncology at the NCCHE), Ayumi Saito (Joint appointment in the Department of Medical Oncology), Masao Arikawa (Joint appointment in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), Ryoko Udagawa (Joint appointment in the Department of Pharmacy), Akiko Kubo (Joint appointment in the Department of Pharmacy), Masako Imai
Introduction
The Appearance Support Center specializes in clinical practice, research, and educational activities focused on appearance care addressing changes in appearance associated with treatment. We support patients in making treatment choices with peace of mind and receiving care while maintaining connections with society.
The Team and What We Do
As to clinical activities, our team comprises three clinical psychologists (each with one full-time and two part-time) whom both in- and out-patients as well as their families consult for questions and concerns regarding physical appearance. Example issues include the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on skin, nails and hair and scarring and epithesis from surgeries and breast surgery. To expand our practice beyond consultation alone, we are currently developing a new team in collaboration with a dermatologist, plastic surgeon, medical oncologist, pharmacist and nurses.
Consultation support for appearance changes is provided at the Appearance Support Center on the 1st floor. Preoperative and postoperative consultations for head and neck cancer patients are conducted at the Patient Support Research and Development Center on the 8th floor, mainly in collaboration with the Perioperative Outpatient Clinic.
In FY2024, we had 234 new patients for individual consultations, of which 205 were eligible for the cancer patient guidance and management fee (b), doubling from the previous year. The outpatient space is open from Monday to Thursday from noon to 2 pm, during which time patients can freely try on care products and consult staff, and we had 717 patients. We also conduct a patient program every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm, the main aim of which is to provide patients with medical information through group sessions, and 70 patients participated. The total number of interventions was 2,322. Online "Appearance Care Course for Workers" was conducted once a month, attracting many participants from other hospitals besides ours.
Research Activities
For the "Research for the establishment of a consultation support and information provision system for appearance care," a comprehensive project to promote cancer control granted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) from 2023 to 2025, we initiated a survey of the support and systems in place at medical institutions for appearance care in conjunction with the MHLW’s Appearance Support Model Project. In the research project "Appearance Care Provided by Medical practitioner for Treatment-Related Appearance Changes in Children and Adolescents with Cancer," selected for the Foundation for CCAJ Grant, we conducted an interview survey with cancer hub hospitals to analyze the status of actual appearance care practices and the challenges.
Education
We have made e-learning available on "Education and Training on Appearance Care of Cancer Patients" for medical staff and also held its advance course for cancer hub hospitals in person. In addition, we held a training session in a collaboration with Japanese Psychological Association on "Psychosocial support for appearance issues faced by cancer patients". At the request of local governments and educational institutions, we also conducted appearance training sessions for medical staff.
Future Prospects
The "Guidelines for the Development of Cancer Hub Hospitals" issued by the MHLW, as well as the "Fourth Basic Plan for the Promotion of Cancer Control" addresses appearance care. We will continue to practice enhanced appearance care based on our research and provide information and training to other medical facilities.
List of papers published in 2024
Journal
1. Tomita M, Nozawa K, Toma S, Arai Y, Takahashi M. Relationship between well-being and factors related to physical appearance changes among male cancer survivors. Appearance and Adornment Psychological Studies, 4:1–10, 2025