PSYC 365 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Posttraumatic Growth, Mastectomy, Family Caregivers

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 365
• Professor: David Cox

Document Summary

Discuss concept of relapse as applied to health compromising behaviours. Radical surgery - requires removal of considerable amount of normal tissue. Side effects of chemotherapy & radiation therapy do harm to health cells. Fatigue, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, pain, increased risk of infection. Anticipatory nausea - onset prior to treatment as result of conditioning. Support groups - members can provide empathy, knowledge from shared experiences. Survivors may report posttraumatic growth - positive outcomes attributed to benefit finding. Navigator - helps patients find their way through complicated world of hospitals & treatment. Social comparison - monitoring opinions & experiences of others to determine what is normal/abnormal & use in decision making. Antidepressants - possible interactions w/ other cancer-related treatments. Psychotherapy - can be used to help patient adopt problem-focused approach to coping w/ cancer. Has been found useful as method of pain management. Helpful for family caregivers who also experience emotional & physical distress.