The Cancer Olympics
Dr. Robin McGee, author of The Cancer Olympics.
Survivor.
When I was in treatment, I used to look at that word with longing. I thought, if I was ever so lucky to be a survivor, I would consider that phase so easy.
Today, four years since by diagnosis of stage IIIC colorectal cancer, I see it differently.
I am a Registered Clinical Psychologist, when I am not an active cancer crusader, patient advocate, and fervid writer. Professionally and personally, I encounter the psychological demands of survivorship. I am grateful to Marie Ennis-O’Connor for the opportunity to enlarge on cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Recent research has underscored that cancer is psychologically as well as physically traumatic. A 2010 study of breast cancer survivors indicated that as many as 45% had symptoms of post traumatic stress, and 16% had the full-blown PTSD. That is, these women experienced the same symptoms of chronic fear, insomnia, vigilance, numbness, and flashbacks that are common among rape victims and combat veterans.
And why not? Although these results astonished the medical community, they make sense to us patients. Survivors have endured a life-threatening experience and undergone continuous and harrowing treatments. Some of us have lost work, or lost body parts. We have suffered harsh experiences for many months, even years. We must live with the fear of recurrence, and bear up under triggering experiences like surveillance tests. Of course we struggle with post traumatic symptoms – we have been traumatized!
So what are the symptoms of cancer PTSD? The new DSM-V lists four criteria:
- Re-experiencing refers to having intrusive thoughts or memories of the cancer, nightmares, flashbacks, or intense reactivity to reminders of it, such as the anniversary date of your surgery;
- Avoidance refers to staying away from thoughts, feelings, people, or situations connected to the cancer. For example, I have a survivor friend who cannot even drive past the hospital;
- Heightened arousal symptoms describe the ways that the brain remains “on edge,” wary and watchful of further threats. Irritability, hypervigilance, insomnia, and difficulty concentrating can be examples; and,
- Negative alterations in mood or cognitions refers to being “stuck” in painful thoughts or emotions since the cancer, such as intense shame or self-blame.
In my book The Cancer Olympics, I describe what these symptoms were like for me. “Whenever I encountered a triggering stimulus, such as the smell inside a hospital, I would experience a full body shudder, and the saliva would come warm and plentiful to my mouth.” In my own case, I sought a therapy I had used successfully myself with veterans with PTSD – a best-practice treatment with the unusual name of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). This treatment breaks down the experience into tiny tolerable elements. Using it, I was able to see my cancer as a chapter in my life – not the whole book. (Although I must tell you all that The Cancer Olympics is a cracking good read! Available on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble, and itunes! 😉 ).
Most survivors will struggle with these post traumatic thoughts and feelings from time to time. However, if these symptoms are strong enough to interfere with your daily functioning, I encourage you to seek help from a qualified mental health practitioner. Cancer took so much from us in the past. There is no need for it to take any more – get help if you need it, and understand and forgive yourself if survivorship is difficult sometimes.
About the author
Dr. Robin McGee is a Registered Clinical Psychologist, mother, wife, educator, and friend. Her book The Cancer Olympics is a suspenseful account of her search for justice from the College of Physicians and Surgeons for the inadequate care that resulted in her very delayed diagnosis. It also recounts how she used social media to lobby her government to cover the best-practice chemotherapy for her kind of cancer (although too late for her to receive it). Amazon.ca reviews describe it as “brilliant and powerful,” “riveting,” “a David vs Goliath story”, “enthralling… impossible to put down.”
Visit http://www.thecancerolympics.com for more information.
The Cancer Olympics is available for purchase on Amazon
Hi, Ms. Ennis-O’Connor
As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are working with the Symphony Sisterhood group on Facebook — to honor people who are using social media to raise awareness about breast cancer. Thank you for all you are doing to raise awareness about cancer through Twitter and your Journeying beyond Breast Cancer blog.
We’d like to honor you as a “Social Media Sage of the Day” on the Symphony Sisterhood Facebook page. In order to feature you and your work, we’ll need a bit of information from you – and it won’t cost you anything more than a few minutes. (See below for more details.)
First, a bit about Symphony Sisterhood and our 14,000-plus fans: We created this community to help women with early-stage breast cancer. The page provides news and support plus information about personalized medicine: “Because every breast cancer is unique, and so is every woman’s journey. “
People such as yourself do a great job creating more awareness about breast cancer. That’s why we want to acknowledge your work on social media as a “Sage of the Day.”
To make this possible, could you take a few moments to get back to us with a couple pieces of information?
Please send us brief text that you’d like to include as part of your acknowledgment, which will be featured on the Symphony Sisterhood page during one of the 31 days of October. We also need a photo. And if you’d like to shoot a brief video, we can include that instead of a photo.
What should you say in your text and/or video? Definitely include something about your blog and your posts on Twitter and @JBBC. You Could Also Mention someone else who’s helped you through your own journey or a particular leader in breast cancer. You could offer advice to newly diagnosed women. It would be best if you could keep it to about 400 words or less.
We’ll need your text and visual back to us by next Tuesday, Sept. 23. Then watch the Symphony Sisterhood Facebook page for you to be honored one day in October as “Social Media Sage of the Day.”
Sound good? Please email me — Greg@DowlingDennis.net – with any questions. We look forward to honoring you in October. Thanks!
— Greg Dennis
Dowling & Dennis
For the Symphony Sisterhood
PS – Please let us know if you’d like to participate. There’s no catch or fine print to any of this. And remember that we need your brief text and photo or video sent to me by next Tuesday, Sept. 23. Thanks again!
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I’m so glad to know I’m not alone! I joke about having PTSD after cancer, but it’s not funny and it’s very real. Many thanks to you, Robin, for bringing this important topic to our attention, and thank you, Marie, for introducing Robin to us via JBBC.
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I think a lot of us can relate to this post. I remember going into a hospital office for a routine procedure a couple of years after my diagnosis. As soon as I went in there I had a complete panic attack. At first I did not understand what was happening. Then I realized I was in the same room where my doctor gave me my diagnosis, in April 2011. Let’s continue to bring light to these issues!
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Robin, this sounds like an amazing book, and I need to purchase it! I have PTSD from my cancer diagnosis and treatment. It is a very serious condition, and luckily I have a wide support network to help me cope. Thank you for this excellent, insightful post. It really resonated with me.
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