Childhood Cancer Case Study

Nursing as a profession is committed to the care of patients and families throughout health and illness and across all setting of care. Nurses assess and plan care to deal with the multidimensional range of needs for those faced with cancer. Nurses have been integrally concerned in efforts focused on cancer prevention, and they also are essential in the emerging area of clinical heredity for prevention and early

“Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles” (ICN 2010)

Cancer is a word which evokes many different images and emotions. Nothing in this world can prepare a person for the utter devastation of finding out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, especially when this person is a child. Over the past twenty five years the amount of research and the survival rate for children suffering with cancer have increased dramatically. Despite these successes, the funding for new research necessary to keep these children alive and healthy is miniscule and too dependent on short term grants. Of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer treatments and research less than a third is contributed to researching pediatric cancer. Given the media focus on adult cancers, research for pediatric cancer is

Two types of primary roles for healthcare workers is one prevention and the second one being the need to be aware of the cardinal symptoms of cancer in children. Prevention begins with teaching and educating the parents and children about the different hazard of known carcinogens, such as cigarette smoking and the effects of it and being exposed to sunlight in an excessive manner. Children that have light colored eyes, skin tone(fair-skinned) and hair are at a higher risk for skin cancer. Children that have freckles are known to get sunburn quicker than others. All children should avoid excessive sun exposure. Various testing

This case study examines childhood cancers in agricultural communities of Mc Farland and Earlimart from 1978 to 1995. According to the local residents of these communities the main reason for cancer is contamination through pesticide in the agricultural farms which is the major source of employment for the residents of the community.

Cancer is the most common disease that causes death in the United States. It is actually the second leading cause of death behind heart disease. Some people do not realize it but children can also get cancer. This is call childhood cancer and it amongst children from 0-17 years old. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease past infancy among children in the United States. At a very young age, childhood cancer had impacted my life physically, mentally and emotionally. It definitely changed my perspective on how I will live my life through on out.

Scenario: John is a 4 year-old boy who was admitted for chemotherapy following diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).  He had a white blood cell count of 250,000.  Clinical presentation included loss of appetite, easily bruised, gum bleeding, and fatigue.  Physical examination revealed marked splenomegaly, pale skin color, temperature of 102°F, and upper abdomen tenderness along with nonspecific arthralgia.

With this is a copy of my justification report on the subject of funding and support of research in pediatric cancer and assisting poor parents of children suffering from cancer. This statement is a review of my findings from the most recent year of working in X Cancer Specialty Center, and a separate research that other researchers have conducted outside the center. This paper will be useful in justifying the funding of extensive research in pediatric cancer, and the necessity to assist parents of the cancer patients to meet medical costs. I have completed this report at no cost to the organization, and I carried out and completed this research during off hours.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is the disease that affects children the most and because of the abnormal cells that are immature white blood cells which cannot help the body fight infections cause children with the disease to often get infections and have fevers (National Cancer Institute, 2002, p. 1). The symptoms that the patient with ALL may have depend on the number of abnormal cells of the patient where exactly the cells collect. Children patients with ALL have low amounts of healthy red blood cells and platelets, which cause less oxygen to be carried through the body because of the lack of red blood cells. Patients at times may look pale, feel weak, and tired causing bleeding and bruising very easily because of their lack of enough platelets. This condition is called anemia. Anemia is very much common in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Fever, fatigue, bone or joint pain, tiny red spots under the skin called petechiae are a couple of symptoms that the disease ALL has. Headaches with, or without vomiting also may occur if patient happens to have abnormal cells collecting in the brain or spinal cord (National Cancer Institute, 2002 para. 2).

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center that denies no child. It is a place where families do not have to pay for treatments and services that are not covered by insurance. It helped raise the overall survival rate of pediatric cancer from 20% to more than 70% (GuideStar, n.d.). Some of their goals are to continue to increase the cure rates for pediatric cancer in the United States; to reduce acute and long-term morbidity that are associated with pediatric cancer treatment; to lead the way in the prevention and control of pediatric cancer; and to advance research and treatment of pulmonary infectious diseases and non-malignant hematological diseases (GuideStar, n.d.). St. Jude is also the first National Cancer Institute-designated

chemotherapy, or have a rapid proliferative rate. The signs and symptoms to look for include hyperuricemia, hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and hyperkalemia and with children flank pain, lethargy, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, pruritus, tetany, and seizures . With hyperuricemia more complications can occur such as the crystallization of uric acid which can cause obstructive nephropathy, tubular injury, acute renal failure and death. Because tumor lysis syndrome can be lethal the important teaching for management of it would be prevention measures, early identification, and putting in place interventions early on.

Every year thousands of children, in the United States alone, are diagnosed with some form of cancer and more cases are occurring each year. When thinking about cancer we often associate it with adult cancers. Throughout the year there are certain days and months dedicated to supporting awareness of specific types of cancers that mainly occur in adults. Although there is some focus on childhood cancer, it does not get as much attention as with adult cancer, because of this there is also less focus on funding childhood cancer research. With a rise of pediatric cancer diagnoses, researchers should take advantage of the modern day technology available and focus some of the attention away from adult cancers and begin to put efforts into finding

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children. It makes up a little more than 3% of childhood

As established in the National Cancer Institute, “Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide for children and adolescents in America, accounting for more than 91,250 children that lose their lives to this disease” (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is not considered a terminal illness, but more of a chronic illness because of the intense treatment that the individual has to endure. As a result of this treatment the chances of survival for children suffering from pediatric cancer has increased around 80 percent. The increment in the survival rate has made it possible for many parents to not have to go through the acceptance that they are about to lose their child to a terminal illness, but have coping strategies that will make them adapt to the fear of the reoccurrence of that illness. This illness has a great impact on the patient as well as the family because not only do they have to adapt to this illness physically, but also mentally. Research has shown that there are both short term and long term effects that come into effect when the child is both in treatment and also years after the treatment. The type of cancers that these adolescents have to endure range from leukemia, brain tumors and other cancerous tumors that have appeared in recent medical studies. These tumors can either be benignant, an acute case that is non-cancerous or malignant, a cancerous case that will need intense treatment over an extended period of time.While many would say there is more of a

Cancer, one of the most feared words in our vocabulary of this time, especially in childhood (Druker 1). Most people when thinking of “childhood cancer” envision very young children, although a “Nation Institute of Health Policy concerning inclusion of children in clinical research defines children as being younger than twenty-one years of age while the Food and Drug Administration considers children to be fifteen years and younger” (Ries 158). That being said, most cancers incidence peak among children occurs during the first year of life (Gurney 149). Some of the most well-known nationwide childhood cancers are leukemia, brain cancer, and other central nervous system cancers (oeconline 1). In conjunction, “the side effects of treatment,