I know. I know.
The abbreviation doesn’t make logical sense.
But it sounds way better than P-Cancer-SD, and PTCSD is a mouthful, and PCSD sounds too much like PTSD, and, besides, PTS-Cancer sounds funny. So here we are.
PTS-Cancer is what we call cancer-induced anxiety or depression, though the anxiety is perhaps easier to describe.
For example…
My thought process one day shortly after the end of chemo:
A hasn’t called me back yet. He had a PET scan yesterday. He’s probably waiting to tell me till he gets home, like he did with the cancer. Oh my god, it’s back. I wonder how far along it is. Will it be watch-and-wait or will he need a stem cell transplant?
and
What A experienced during the month of December:
A‘s talking an old classmate about her cancer diagnosis and treatment decisions. His grandmother is dying [the other one died a month after he was diagnosed last year]. He’s got a cold [a persistent cough originally led to discovering the cancer]. He’s got a CT scan scheduled for next month to see if everything is okay.
PTS-Cancer is any time that downward-spiraling thoughts about cancer make us feel a need to pull ourselves together and put on a normal face in order to interact with the world.
A‘s beloved, sharp-witted, hilarious, somewhat feared grandmother died early this morning. May her memory be a blessing.
This Glass Has Water 