Cancer and posttraumatic growth

Cancer is a major medical problem and a leading cause of mortality in the UK. The experience of diagnosis and treatment can be a traumatic one for many people, with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) common for many patients. Despite this, many survivors also report benefits and a sense of personal growth from their experience. Understanding this process and the influence of posttraumatic growth (PTG) on mental health outcomes for cancer patients may have far reaching implications for the promotion of psychological adjustment to this chronic illness. The literature review in this paper explores the predominant theories of PTG and the research on cancer-related PTG.The literature review explores links between the predictions of these general theories and research findings for cancer patients specifically. Establishing factors that predict PTG and its relationship with a range of mental health outcomes would help to build our understanding of emotional adjustment to chronic illness and inform the development of psychological interventions.The empirical paper investigates the role of trauma-related cognitive appraisals in the perception of PTG for breast cancer patients. More negative appraisals in relation to the event were associated with benefit finding