Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Young Cancer Survivors At Higher Risk Of Poor Mental Health

by Colleen Fleiss on Oct 2 2018 1:27 PM

Young Cancer Survivors At Higher Risk Of Poor Mental Health
People who have survived cancer at young age are at an increased risk of suffering from poor mental health, found new study.
"Cancer survivors' imagined future lives were still more illness-focused than their cancer-free peers, but //survivors were less able to imagine their futures with this same degree of specificity and detail," lead author Ursula Sansom-Daly from University of New South Wales was quoted as saying.

For the study, published in the journal Psycho-Oncology, the research team involved more than 70 young cancer survivors and more than 60 young people who never had cancer.

The team examined whether aspects of "autobiographical thinking", such as memories and imagining the future, were linked with young people's current distress and quality of life.

They found that people who are less able to remember their personal past in clear, detailed ways, and cannot imagine personal future events in similarly detailed, vivid ways, are more at risk for disorders including clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It is possible that young cancer survivors who have recently experienced life-threatening illness may avoid thinking about their futures in great detail because this is anxiety-provoking to them," Sansom-Daly said.

Source-IANS


Advertisement