Posttraumatic stress, family functioning, and social support in survivors of childhood leukemia and their mothers and fathers.

Abstract

Psychological sequelae are examined in 130 former childhood leukemia patients and 155 comparison participants and their parents. The major dependent variables are symptoms of anxiety and posttraumatic stress, family functioning, and social support. Multivariate analyses of covariance indicated significantly more posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers and fathers of childhood leukemia survivors (p < .001) and no differences between survivors and peers. There were no significant group differences for family functioning or social support, although they were associated with anxiety and posttraumatic stress outcomes. Current child age, age at diagnosis, and months off treatment were not significantly correlated with outcome. These findings document the long-term impact of childhood cancer treatment on parents. The lack of significant differences for survivors argues for further attention to the relevance of posttraumatic stress disorder for childhood cancer survivors. The clinical implications are that psychological interventions are needed during and after cancer treatment.

Post-traumatic Stress Response to Life-Threatening Illnesses in Children and Their Parents

“…Of the cancer survivors, 2.6% reported severe PTSD symptoms, and 12.1% reported symptoms in the moderate range. By contrast, in the comparison group, 3.4% reported severe PTSD symptoms, and 12.3% reported symptoms in moderate range [7,8], with no statistically significant difference between pediatric cancer survivors and controls.…”

Allostatic Load in Women With and Without PTSD Symptoms

“…Parents also experience multiple discrete traumatic events common to cancer treatment, beginning with their child's diagnosis, and followed by bone marrow aspirations, spinal taps, transplants, surgery and other fear-provoking procedures associated with treatment (Stuber, Kazak, Meeske and Barakat 1998). Some parents will develop clinically significant PTSD symptoms following their child's diagnosis and treatment including hallmark PTSD symptoms of re-experiencing (e.g., flashbacks of worst moments), emotional numbing and avoidance, and hyperarousal (Brown, Madan-Swain and Lambert 2003;Glover and Stuber 2005b;Kazak et al 1997;Manne, Du, Gallelli, Sorgen and Redd 1998;Pelcovitz et al 1996).…”

The psychosocial needs of the cancer sufferer and his support: a nationwide Belgian study

“…Alors que le pourcentage de survie relative à cinq ans tous sites confondus é tait de 35 % entre 1950 et 1954, il é tait passé à 65 % entre 1995 et 2000 [68]. Né anmoins, la maladie cancé reuse et ses traitements restent à l'origine d'une sé rie de ré actions cognitives, é motionnelles et comportementales qui concernent tant le patient que les membres de sa famille et ses proches ( [18,28,32,48,49]). Ces ré actions s'articulent autour des diffé rentes phases de la maladie cancé -reuse : les premiers symptô mes [2,75], les traitements [41,56], la rechute, la phase pré terminale et terminale [34,42,59,81]), la ré mission [17,24,33] et la gué rison [1,36].…”