Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Exp Med. Sep 20, 2024; 14(3): 95565
Published online Sep 20, 2024. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v14.i3.95565
Addressing trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and post-traumatic growth in breast cancer patients
Amos Nnaemeka Amedu
Amos Nnaemeka Amedu, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflicts of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Amos Nnaemeka Amedu, PhD, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, 22 Henley Road Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa. aamedu@uj.ac.za
Received: April 12, 2024
Revised: May 14, 2024
Accepted: June 11, 2024
Published online: September 20, 2024
Processing time: 138 Days and 13.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Breast cancer (BC) is a common cancer among females in Africa. Being infected with BC in Africa seems like a life sentence and brings devastating experiences to patients and households. As a result, BC is comorbid with trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and post-traumatic growth (PTG).

AIM

To identify empirical evidence from peer-reviewed articles on the comorbidity trajectories between BC and trauma, BC and PTSD, and BC and PTG.

METHODS

This review adhered to the PRISMA guidelines of conducting a systematic review. Literature searches of the National Library of Medicine, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases were conducted using search terms developed for the study. The search hint yielded 769 results, which were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. At the end of the screening, 24 articles were included in the systematic review.

RESULTS

BC patients suffered trauma and PTSD during the diagnosis and treatment stages. These traumatic events include painful experiences during and after diagnosis, psychological distress, depression, and cultural stigma against BC patients. PTSD occurrence among BC patients varies across African countries, as this review disclosed: 90% was reported in Kenya, 80% was reported in Zimbabwe, and 46% was reported in Nigeria. The severity of PTSD among BC patients in Africa was based on the test results communicated to the patients. Furthermore, this review revealed that BC patients experience PTG, which involves losing, regaining, and surrendering final control over the body, rebuilding a personified identity, and newfound appreciation for the body.

CONCLUSION

Patients with BC undergo numerous traumatic experiences during their diagnosis and treatment. Psychological interventions are needed in SSA to mitigate trauma and PTSD, as well as promote PTG.

Keywords: Trauma; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Post-traumatic growth; Breast cancer; Patients; Sub-Saharan Africa

Core Tip: A high incidence of breast cancer (BC) is common among African females, and a diagnosis thereof is misconstrued as a death sentence because of the low survival rate. BC affects female patients from 25 years to 65 years of age and it is associated with psychological problems such as trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is a lack of pooled empirical evidence on the comorbidity of BC, trauma, PTSD, and post-traumatic growth among female African patients.