'Having cancer was awful but also something good came out': Post-traumatic growth among adult survivors of pediatric and adolescent cancer.
Eduardo R Zamora, Jaehee Yi, Jesmin Akter and 3 others
PMID 28478851WHAT IT FOUND
Adult survivors of childhood or adolescent cancer described confidence, closer family ties, empathy, spiritual meaning, and a higher value for life.
Nurses can ask about these meanings, but the study does not show that this improves outcomes.
Key findings
01Survivors described increased confidence and closer family or partner relationships.
02Many survivors described stronger spiritual or religious beliefs and increased participation in faith practices.
03Some survivors described empathy for others and a higher value for life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The findings depend on survivors' self-reports, so personal bias may shape what they said. The sample was restricted to Utah and lacked ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. The study could not meaningfully correlate demographic, diagnosis, or treatment variables with growth. It did not measure when growth began or whether it persisted. Qualitative interviews cannot show how much growth occurred or compare survivors with people who did not have cancer.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that cancer causes growth or that spiritual support improves outcomes. The paper reports survivors' experiences without a comparison group or measured effects.