Cancer Survivorship 101: Post Traumatic Stress in Cancer Survivors

Post Traumatic Stress in Cancer Survivors, with Lara Traeger, PhD
Due to the quarantine, we had to cancel our annual in-person Cancer Survivorship 101 event that was planned for June, 2020. Instead, we created a series of video lectures presented here on our website and our RUclips page featuring the speakers that were to be highlighted at the event.
Lara Traeger, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Behavioral Medicine Services
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lara Traeger is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. She specializes in the care of adults and their families affected by psychological distress related to cancer. Her active program of research focuses on enhancing self-efficacy, health behaviors and resilience following cancer diagnosis as well as enhancing patient-clinician collaboration. She conducts her work in collaboration with specialists in cancer, aging, behavioral medicine, mind-body medicine, decision science, and public health to support a multi-disciplinary approach to this work.
Survivor Journeys has been a non-profit organization since March, 2015. Its origins, began during the year-long medical quarantine Dr Jay Burton lived through after his stem cell transplant for Acute Myeloid Leukemia which ended in late October 2011. Dr Burton’s emotional and social support experiences prompted speaking engagements about cancer survivorship. The community interest generated from these talks, as well as the lack of emotional and support services for cancer survivors in our region, led to the creation of Survivor Journeys. Learn more at survivorourneys.org

[@tiinaheinikangas3936]

Such a good video, thank you! I had cancer year 2000 at the age of 23 and still have not got over it. So I think, I have PTSD. Currently having therapy again, so hoping it to help. 🙏

[@epistte]

I already have C-PTSD because of physical and sexual child abuse. The new stress of stage 3 breast cancer has pushed me to the brink and my oncologist is ignoring the effects of PTSD in my treatment. I have complained but their response was a simplistic "Try harder" and "take responsibility for yourself" instead of trying to work with me.

[@traciboylston2242]

Wearing a mask and seeing people in mask cause’s an angry stress response after cancer treatment during covid. How do I deal with this?

[@kathya1956]

Why don’t you go seek psychological help? Can an oncologist refer patients to these professionals that could help with PTSD?