The experience of carrying a genetic mutation is often described as living with an internal time bomb. The amputation of the breasts or ovaries can therefore be seen as an attempt to neutralise it.
In her book Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Cancer Patients, Jane Goldberg claims that “it has been repeatedly observed that cancer often emerges within six to eighteen months following some major emotional loss.” Following Jung, she then goes on to explain the theory that a severe reaction to loss is a fertile soil for the growth of cancer.
“Libido turns inwards and, unable to find there a compensating value, begins to feed upon the body as outer object to the psyche.”
This time frame, six to eighteen months, really brings the time bomb metaphor to life. In these Jungian analytical theories of illness, all of the components are there - the “explosive” ingredients, the trauma as detonator, the specific timer, followed by a chain reaction of destruction.
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