Post-traumatic stress in women with breast cancer

ABSTRACT

A diagnosis of cancer has a normal stress response characterized by shock, numbness, and denial and often including despair and hopelessness. This study examined whether the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer produced post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] in adult women. A total of 100 women with early stage breast cancer were selected from the Nuclear Medicine Hospital, Mosul, Iraq. The women answered special questionnaires that included some personal data and medical history. Overall, low rates of PTSD were observed in this sample of the study. The breast cancer experience does not seem to have the immediacy of threat to life or bodily integrity usually associated with external trauma. We urge continued study of this important issue, so that future studies on the empirical data about which illnesses and medical conditions are more likely to cause PTSD