Personal growth in adolescents struggling with cancer – the characteristic of phenomenon

The diagnosis of cancer in children and adolescents is a very difficult and traumatizing experience both for them and their family. It is estimated that cancers in this age group represent 1-2% of all cancers and cause death in approximately 8% of cases. Children and adolescents are the most frequently diagnosed with leukemia, neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, renal cell carcinoma and hepatic cancer. Previous research projects were devoted to psychopathological reactions to disease diagnosis, such as anger or depression. However, in recent years scientists have been focusing also on positive aspects of traumatic experiences related to cancer. They began to identify conditions of posttraumatic growth not only among adults, but also children and adolescents. In this paper the authors presented the specificity of posttraumatic growth in the group of adolescents, along with its conditions. The main concepts of this phenomenon with reference to children and adolescents were highlighted. In addition, it was attempted to review the current studies on posttraumatic growth among minors struggling with cancer.