Posttraumatic stress disorder in breast cancer patients following autologous bone marrow transplantation of conventional cancer treatments

We assessed 17 women who had undergone autologous bone marrow transplants ( BMT) for their breast cancer and 20 other women who had been treated for br east cancer (but not with BMT) by structured clinical interviews examining each stage of the breast cancer experience (e.g. initial diagnosis, initial treatment, recurrence of cancer (if applicable) and BMT (if applicable)) a nd at follow-up points; 3, 6 and 12 months (if applicable) posttreatment, T he two groups did not differ on incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD) or generalized anxiety disorder at any stage. We found a high rate of PTSD over the cancer experience, 35% for the combined sample, with cancer diagnosis being the most likely point for developing PTSD, 27% for the combined sample. None of the 17 women who had undergone BMT developed PTSD as a result of the treatment. (C) 2000 Elsevi er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.