Journal of Clinical Case Reports

How to Encounter the Development of Panic Disorder During Adjuvant Breast Cancer Chemotherapy: A Case Study

Abstract

Anna Koumarianou, Panagiotis Pelekasis, Martha Kontogoni and Christina Darviri

Background: Panic disorder during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer occurs rarely and thus there are no studies, nor specific guidelines to treat its troubling symptoms that may lead to treatment discontinuation.
Case report: We describe a patient with breast cancer developing panic disorder during adjuvant chemotherapy treatment putting at risk its completion. We used progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) to effectively control her symptoms and achieved completion of her therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a patient with breast cancer developing adjuvant chemotherapyrelated panic disorder. PMR is highlighted through our study as an effective way of handling panic disorder in oncology units.