October 1st 2004Drs. Jeremy Winell and AndrewRoth have provided a niceoverview of the diagnosis andtreatment of depression in cancer patients.The views they express are bothwidely accepted and applicable to otherserious medical illnesses as well.They remind us of the challenge ofmaking a valid diagnosis of depressionin cancer patients, since all of thesomatic symptoms of depression (eg,anorexia, fatigue, insomnia) may insome patients represent symptoms ofcancer or cancer treatment rather thandepression.