PTSD and breast cancer

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Snowflake67
Snowflake67 Member Posts: 32
edited October 2016 in Just Diagnosed

Just got diagnosed on 9/12/16 with dcis. Surgery 9/29/16. I have PTSD from childhood sexual abuse-feeling overwhelmed and triggered. Read that there can be a correlation between PTSD and breast cancer. Any thoughts

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited September 2016

    Hi Snowflake-

    We want to welcome you to our community here at BCO, and tell you how sorry we are that you find yourself here. Just know that you are not alone, and you have the support of this entire community behind you.

    We have a thread in our Emotional Crises forum that might be helpful to you: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/102/topic.... Other members discussing how they manage their diagnosis with PTSD. Hopefully you'll find some calming and supportive words and advice there.

    The Mods

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  • nye1980
    nye1980 Member Posts: 69
    edited September 2016

    I was also suffering from PTSD related to my birth experience and know that I will have to deal with PTSD from this journey as well and so am prepared to return to therapy. But if you're asking about PTSD *causing* cancer...I'm not sure that's quite true. I think there are people that believe that extreme stress "triggers" cancer cells somehow, but I'm not sure I put much stock in that.

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  • Snowflake67
    Snowflake67 Member Posts: 32
    edited September 2016

    thank you -I apologize I didn't see that prior to writing this post

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  • Snowflake67
    Snowflake67 Member Posts: 32
    edited September 2016

    thank you for responding. :)

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2016

    I had been dx with PTSD, mild, before the dx of bc. My late husband, after we had been married just 3 months, died of metastasized cancer. He was 49, I was 35. He had been given an all clear the previous summer after intense chemo and rads and we got married. 6 weeks later there is was. Probably never did leave his body. Anyway, PTSD post-death of my hubby; I was his caregiver. Anyway, there I was 15 years later dx with c. I keep Xanax on hand before each check up. And I've begun meditating, and I exercise a lot. I know what triggers it and try to prepare as best I can.


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  • mustlovepoodles
    mustlovepoodles Member Posts: 2,825
    edited October 2016

    I was diagnosed with PTSD years ago, related to sexual abuse as a child. It was under control until we had a terrible rollover wreck with our RV. in 2010. I still get flashbacks when I'm driving, but for the most part it's much better. That is, until BC came along. I did pretty well all through the LX and re-excision, despite having complications with both. Chemo wasn't too awful, even though I got septic once.

    But then I had my BMX and everything went to hell. I had a massive amount of tissue necrosis, all the way to the chest wall. I've been a nurse for 39 years and I don't think I've seen anything like it--it was baaaaaad! And that was my tipping point. I went into a funk that lasted weeks. Thankfully, my DH recognized the signs and had me in to see the doctor quickly. She figured things out in about 5 minutes and put me on Lexapro, which has antidepressant and anti-anxiety properties. Within 2 weeks I felt like myself again. I still had to deal with all the complications of the BMX (16 weeks to heal!), but I'm telling you it really helped me get over the hump.

    ETA: I only needed it for 6 months.

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