Positive psychosocial adjustment in potential bone marrow transplant recipients: Cancer as a psychosocial transition

Abstract

MARIANNE J. BRADY

The examination of psychosocial adjustment in cancer patients requires focusing upon both negative psychosocial sequelae, such as anxiety and depression, and positive sequelae, such as improvements in life outlook or interpersonal relationships. Both positive and negative psychosocial, physical and functional change following the diagnosis of cancer was assessed in a sample (n = 133) of individuals with malignant disease undergoing evaluation for bone marrow transplantation. Positive psychosocial sequelae were frequently reported. Comparison of a subset of cancer patients (n = 60) with a matched group of individuals without a history of cancer (i.e. ‘controls’), revealed that controls also reported a surprising degree of positive psychosocial change across a given period of time. The fact that cancer patients equalled or exceeded controls in the likelihood of reporting positive psychosocial change was, however, noteworthy given the context of physical and functional decline shown by cancer patients. It is concluded that cancer should not be viewed as a stressor with uniformly negative outcomes but rather as a transitional event which creates the potential for both positive and negative change.