Massage therapy has been shown to reduce stress, effect relaxation, and reduce psychological and physical distress among children with cancer. New research shows adults who had cancer during childhood suffer four times the rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than do people who did not have cancer when they were children.
Researchers from several medical departments throughout the U.S. teamed up to compare PTSD rates in cancer survivors and their siblings. A total of 6,542 childhood cancer survivors over 18 years of age who received diagnoses between 1970 and 1986 and 368 siblings of cancer survivors completed a comprehensive demographic and health survey, according to the research abstract.
“PTSD was reported significantly more often by survivors of childhood cancer than by sibling control subjects,” the abstract noted. “Although most survivors apparently are faring well, a subset reported significant impairment that may warrant targeted intervention.”
The research was published in the journal Pediatrics.
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