Female BC and sexual abuse survivors

Hi Maude,

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences and your bladder cancer diagnosis. There is research out there that backs up a connection between childhood sexual abuse and health problems later in life. Much of it can be attributed to coping mechanisms that can cause health risks such as smoking, drinking, drug use and obesity; it's been shown that smoking acutally helped regulate mood-as other drugs obviously do. Depression and PTSD are common following sexual abuse in childhood, as is the use of mood-regulating substances.

Another obvious risk factor is sexually transmitted diseases, the risks rise with number of partners a person has had. There have been a couple of studies connecting bladder cancer to HVP(Human papilloma virus or genital warts) but nothing conclusive yet. HVP has been proven to be a cause of cervical cancer in women. Maybe there is a connection between women, bladder cancer, HVP and childhood sexual abuse but it has never been looked at as far as I can find out.

I did a google search, a scholar google (scholar.1d5920f4b44b27a802bd77c4f0536f5a-gdprlock) search and a 'related articles' search at PubMed and the best article I found was with Scholar Google. From 1998: www.masskids.org/mcsapp/ACE%20study.pdf
"Relation of childhood abuse and Household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults"

I'm sure that part of the problem with identifying a connection is that 1. doctors don't ask about this kind of history-though they should and 2. women don't volunteer this history unless asked. The article I referenced says that children exposed to various forms of physical, emotional and sexual abuse have a 4-12 times increased risk of heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, skeletal fractures, and liver disease. The study said that the more categories a child was exposed to the more risk factors the person becomes exposed to as well. It makes sense...

There are a few studies that have looked at a connection between SSRIs (antidepressants) and breast cancer, including Paxil and Prozac. Of course there are many more studies about breast cancer than about women and bladder cancer.

I wish you much success with your BCG treatments and hope you find some peace of mind as well as the support you need through your therapy and group.

Wendy

Hello,

I am a 40 year old bladder cancer survivor who is also a childhood sexual abuse survivor. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer 9 months ago. I had surgery and then went through 6 weeks of BCG treatments. I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the sex abuse, but it had not been bothering me for several years. It wasn't until after I went through the surgery, treatments, and checkups that I began to have PTSD symptoms again. I am wondering if there are any other women out there who have had similar experiences. If there are please let me know how you have been dealing with it. I am involved in a cancer survivors group and I am seeing a therapist individually as well. I feel alone (have not met anyone with a similar experience) in this right now and am reaching out for help.