Experience of Struggle Against Cancer in Japanese Childhood Cancer Survivors

In this article, we reviewed several topics related to the experience of struggle against cancer among Japanese childhood cancer survivors. Several studies on the relationship between this struggle against cancer and negative psychological consequences such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) present the possibility that the subjective intensity of treatment has a strong influence on later mental health. The few studies on the positive consequences of this experience of struggle such as posttraumatic growth and resilience were also reviewed. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is a new concept according to which people who have experienced trauma apply positive interpretations to and find meaning in the traumatic event. Resilience is the achievement of positive adaptation to the adversity. In Japanese childhood cancer survivors, studies present the possibility that this experience of struggle against cancer can have a positive effect on later mental health. Here again, the subjective intensity of treatment was also important for PTG. In future research, we will try to integrate qualitative study with quantitative study about the experience of the cancer struggle among Japanese childhood cancer survivors.