Cancer-Related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Patients With Cancer

Abstract

At least half of patients with cancer experience emotional distress (e.g., posttraumatic stress symptoms). Most of the studies on the emotional distress of Taiwanese cancer patients have focused on issues of depression rather than on posttraumatic stress disorder. The scope of the present article covers the definitions of cancer-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CR-PTSD) and cancer-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CR-PTSS), identifies the differences and similarities between professional interview and self-administered measurement tools and their applications; analyzes the prevalence of CR-PTSD and CR-PTSS; identifies the possible contributing sociodemographic (younger age, female, low education, low socio-economic status), clinical (advanced stage, undergoing chemotherapy, just completed the therapy), and psychosocial (negative psychological traits, poor social support, and insufficient coping strategies) of CR-PTSD and CR-PTSS; and aggregates the effects of cognitive and psychosocial interventions on CR-PTSD and CR-PTSS. Furthermore, recommendations for clinical practice and research are discussed. This article is expected to provide practicing nurses with a basic concept of caring for emotional distress and to inspire researchers to conduct further study of issues related to CR-PTSD and CR-PTSS.