Hello everyone,
I was reading up on some cancer news and found a Reuters article talking about how many cancer survivors struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. A statistic says that nearly 4 out of 10 survivors display symptoms. "Those symptoms include being extra jumpy, having
disturbing thoughts about the cancer and its treatment, or feeling
emotionally numb toward friends and family." It also said that 1 in 10 try not thinking about the disease and at least 1 in 20 avoid any kind of activity or situation that reminded them of cancer.
This could be dangerous for the survivor because they're not supposed to avoid medical care and miss follow ups because there is always chance of recurrence. The survey was conducted at the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina and based on 566 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I find this survey a little surprising especially since the article says that low-income people are extra vulnerable to the psychological effects of living with this disease, but it makes sense.
Here's the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/us-cancer-ptsd-idUSTRE79B7FT20111012
thanks for sharing that edwin -
ReplyDeletealong the same line, resources from the National Cancer Institute include stress as a risk factor. Stress and psychological pressure can affect cancer progression as well, which may be linked to the stress experienced by people who are marginalized &/or struggling for a myriad of reasons, whether structural or person.
Cancer.gov info on Stress as a risk factor for cancer:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/stress