Coping with Cancer among Holocaust Survivors in Israel: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The psychosocial coping potential of Israeli cancer patients who are concentration camp survivors was found to be consistently lower than that of similar cancer patients without camp experience. “The survivor's syndrome” is referred to as explaining the lower coping levels of patients for whom cancer diagnosis reactivates past traumas. The need for early identification and treatment of these highly vulnerable patients is emphasized.

Index Terms:

• cancer patients
• concentration camp
• coping
• the survivor's syndrome
• traumatization