Diagnosis of ovarian cancer and object relationships in early memories: a pilot study

Women newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer (N = 16) and women from the community (N = 17) each described 3 early memories. We assessed the developmental maturity level of the memories with Mayman's Libidinal Level of Relationships scale, which assesses the maturity of memories form oral to latency levels. The early memories of the cancer patients were at a significantly lower libidinal level and more often involved oral relationship themes than the memories of the community women. The results suggest that a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness can invoke comforting memories of being cared for and fed, associated with a greater sense of dependence on others.