Cancer may be considered a traumatic event, and therefore, it may not be surprising to learn that someone may be able to develop PTSD from cancer. To be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must have experienced a traumatic life event where the following criteria are met:
- The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event where there was the threat of or actual death or serious injury. The event may also have involved a threat to the person's physical well-being or the physical well-being of another person.
- The person responded to the event with strong feelings of fear, helplessness, or horror.
When we think of traumatic events and PTSD, we often focus attention on life experiences such as physical or sexual assaults, combat exposure, natural disasters, or motor vehicle accidents. However, the experience of a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, also meets the above criteria and can therefore lead to the development of PTSD.
The Relationship Between PTSD and Cancer
Many studies have been conducted that look at PTSD following cancer. It's been found that anywhere between 0% to 32% of people will develop PTSD as a result of the cancer.
So, who is most at risk? A number of risk factors may play a role in the development of PTSD following cancer. Some of the identified risk factors for PTSD following cancer include:
- The past experience of stressful life events.
- A history of psychological difficulties.
- High levels of distress prior to receiving the cancer diagnosis.
- Coping through avoidance.
- Poor social support.
- Poorer physical functioning.
Many of these risk factors for PTSD following cancer are the same as those found to increase risk for PTSD in general. It is also important to note that the type and severity of a cancer diagnosis has not been found to increase risk for PTSD. Instead, psychological factors seem to play the major role in determining who is more at risk for developing PTSD following cancer.
What Best Predicts the Development of PTSD Following Cancer?
To better answer the question of which factors most increase risk for PTSD following cancer diagnosis and treatment, a group of researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, followed a group of head, neck, and lung cancer patients from the first month following their cancer diagnosis (and before they had started treatment) to 6 months after their diagnosis. They looked at the role of a number of different psychological and medical factors in the development of Acute Stress Disorder and PTSD.
They found that 28% of people had Acute Stress Disorder the month after their diagnosis, and 6 months following the cancer diagnosis, 22% had PTSD. Like other studies, the type and severity of the cancer did not influence whether or not someone developed PTSD. Instead, experiencing dissociation at the time of the cancer diagnosis best determined who later developed PTSD.
Dissociation is a way of responding to extreme stress. However, in the end, it may prevent someone from actually coping with stress in a healthy way. For example, emotions (such as fear or anger) about the diagnosis may not be fully processed or dealt with. Dissociation may also be a sign that a person does not have many healthy ways of coping with stress available to them.
What This All Means
Being diagnosed with cancer, as well as the treatment of cancer, can be a traumatic event and can put someone at risk for developing PTSD. The best indicators of who will eventually develop PTSD seem to be psychological, such as how one responds to the stress of a cancer diagnosis. Therefore, if you have been diagnosed with cancer, it may be important to combine medical treatment with psychological treatment that focuses on the stress of having cancer. Lisa Fayed, About.com Guide to Cervical Cancer, offers a number of resources on how to better cope with a cancer diagnosis and its treatment.
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