1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85

1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85, with more than 60% of cancer patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis. This makes Australia one of the best places in the world to be diagnosed with cancer; follow up support however may not be being optimally received. According to a recent US study the hidden psychological scars caused by the diagnosis of cancer can leave scaring akin to that inflicted by war, with the impact in some cases lasting for years. Given these facts it is vital that medical practitioners and networks of support are put in place to ensure survivors continue to obtain adequate medical care.

Cancer care must include the psychological as well as the biological. According to Sophia Smith, lead researcher of the Duke Cancer Institute, one in ten cancer survivors stated that they were still plagued by symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, more than a decade after being diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms include avoiding situations related to the trauma, being continuously plagued by thoughts about cancer and its treatment and feeling emotionally numb towards friends and relatives. The psychological and mental shock of having a life-threatening disease, of receiving treatment and living with the repeated threats to one’s body and life are traumatic. Because the cancer experience involves so many traumatic events, it is much more difficult to single out one event as a trigger of stress than it is for other traumas such as war or rape.

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