Journal Of Clinical Oncology: A Psychological Analysis

It’s astonishing how one diagnosis can completely alter the life of a family. One day you’re looking to move into the fancy houses along the coast, and the next you’re forced to consider if you would be able to afford the same home with one income. When I was three years old my mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was too young to know what was happening, but at the age of seven, when my mom was diagnosed for the second time, I began to notice a change in my family’s daily life. I was told not to sit on my mom’s lap and that she could not play with me as much as usual due to her Chemotherapy, but it was not until her third time contracting cancer that I noticed the pain she was in. I was fourteen when I finally learned about the very thing I had been trying to figure out for nearly my entire life. This burden has solely shaped the way I act and how I handle life’s many challenges, but how it accomplished this was not always a joyous experience.

The parents came out of Grandma’s room by one by one, bags under their eyes, makeup running down their face, and bright red noses. By that time, I could almost predict what happened. As my mom and dad approached us with their heads down, I prepared myself to hear exactly what I never wanted to hear. “The doctors are turning off the life support machine. She isn’t suffering anymore, and she will be looking over every one of you guys. She said she loves you all so much,” Mom told us while my dad didn’t hide his tears back.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

The movie “Wit” is a great educational tool for healthcare professionals in terms of dealing with terminally ill patients. It teaches that nurses and medical professionals should always remember that their patients are not a case nor illness nor experiment but rather human beings with souls and pains. Palliative care is one of the most disputed issues of worldwide importance. While bureaucrats in different countries are making laws on the use of palliative drugs, patients with excruciating pains learn how to “take deep breaths and be strong” (Nichols & Brokaw, 2001). That is what nurse Susie Monahan from “Wit” advises her dying patient Vivian Bearing suffering from unbearable pains due to stage IV ovarian cancer after eight painful rounds

When it comes to the experience of grief that goes along with a terminal diagnosis or death the focus of care, therapy, and concern is often placed solely on the patient and his or her family and friends, and rightly so (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). However, the health care professionals that help to care for these patients and their loved ones are often left in the shadows to cope with the grief that they may be feeling, alone (Woolhouse, Brown & Thind, 2012). Often, their grief is deemed unacceptable by their colleagues and society, and they are certainly not provided with the same level of care as someone who is experiencing real grief, first-hand (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). This paper discusses the differences that health

A child is usually portrayed as innocent and pure. Yamila, who is now 10, has been fighting cancer ever since she was 3 years old, when she was found to suffer from ALL. Yamila, whose family lived in Puerto Rico, underwent treatment at a local hospital. But the cancer came back. This time, her doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant and referred Yamila’s family to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Jude invents more clinical trials than any other children’s hospital, which is why the world looks to St. Jude for new and better ways to treat childhood cancer. At St. Jude, Yamila underwent the bone marrow transplant, with her brother serving as her donor. “My daughter began riding her bike shortly after leaving the transplant unit,” said Yahaira, Yamila's mother. “The physical therapist would come to teach her some exercises, and all she would think about was her bike” said her mother. “St. Jude is a hospital where miracles happen,” Yamila said. Yamila portrayed a sad child’s life because after she recovered from cancer she got it

Nurses also provide end of life, and post mortem care. When a patient dies, the nurse often grieves alongside the family and helps to provide them with emotional support (Hecktman, 2012). Although the prognoses of childhood cancer have improved drastically over the last 30 years, many children still succumb to the disease. Nurses are the ones who provide constant bedside care, and often “must confront the limits of what medicine can do for people” (Schuster, 2013). This can prove to be difficult and bring on feelings of hopelessness and as though they are not helping their patients at all. Patients can leave lasting impacts on the nursing staff, and when multiple children die while in their care, the nurse may begin to experience cumulative loss. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of non-accidental death for children in Canada, and therefore, pediatric oncology nurses are often exposed to death on a routine basis, with little time to grieve between the deaths. It is imperative that nurses are aware of their stressors and how they respond to stress in order to effectively care for their patients.

“Each year in the United States, approximately 50,000 children die and 500,000 children cope with life-limiting conditions” (Varela et al., 2012, p. 171). According to the Department of Health children’s “palliative care is centered on services that cater for young patients with a range of life-limiting and life-threatening conditions” (Department of Health (DH) 2008, Spathis et al 2012).

An article for “Coping (with Cancer) Magazine” and, any former science teachers are raising their eyebrows in disbelief, but articles for Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy and Go Nuclear, Inc. I’m also working on another children’s book. The little girl I titled Tickles Tabitha after is all grown up and a talented artist. I’d like her to do the illustrations. Unfortunately, this may take a while as she received a fellowship to UNC, and has way too many internships and school related professional grad school functions to work for free for her mother.

Approximately 2,300 pediatric patients with cancer will die each year in the United States. Of these 2,300 patients, more than half will include have a do not resuscitate order (DNR) during their EOL planning (Hinds et al., 2005). During the last month of life, a study found that most children; according to their parents, 53% had little or no fun, 61% were more than a little sad and 63% were not calm and peaceful most of the time (Wolfe et al., 2000). These deaths are usually anticipated, and have been included in the end of life decisions of both patient and family. End of life decisions include, DNRs, withdrawal of life support and aggressive symptom management only. Hinds et al. (2005) study reported that the most frequently reason for feeling okay about a DNR decision include “the Lord is

In their article“Assessment of Distress and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Over the Course of Chemotherapy”, they hope to inform potential cancer nurses about the pain that different patients of different backgrounds go through. They record the pain and quality of life from before treatment begins, while treatment is going on, and after treatment. The authors do not explain how adolescents thought process help or inhibit them from making the right choice, but it shows that they are taking the what the patients say to heart. This is the reason that I chose this article. Also the range of education varied through the study participants. Some patients only had a level of elementary school. If these people are capable enough to not only understand the consequences of treatment , but they also understood the conditions of the study that they are participating in. This article also seems helpful because it is a part of a peer reviewed academic journal. So it is understood that the two author really know what they are talking about.

If I were in Elias shoes being a 10-year-old boy with Leukemia; I would be filled with many emotions. I would be afraid, confused and lost. Being a child and only just beginning life; finding out I had a sickness that could possibly lead to a shortened life would be traumatizing. I would want my parents by my side at all times and to know if I would become healthier at some point. If I knew my grandmother was sickly as well, I would want to ask her (Ella) a lot of questions about her sickness and how she has lived as long as she has with it.” Stage theories, such as Piaget’s stage theory, focus on whether children progress through qualitatively different stages of development. Sociocultural theories, such as that of Lev Vygotsky, emphasize

This period in a human’s trajectory dictates largely the development of basic skills they will utilize through adulthood and beyond. The development of motor skills, language, other modes of communication, social and emotional skills and cognition begin during this time. Strong secure attachment and trust of primary caregivers can give a child strong foundations and positively contribute to the health of the child over the course of its life into adulthood and further on. Infancy, however, is also when the highest cancer incidence occurs among children, specifically during the first year of life (CANCER AMONG INFANTS). Very young infants are not able to verbalize nor give conceptualize and thus give meaning to the word “cancer.” They do, however, understand routines that include feedings, diapering, bathing, naptimes and playtime with their primary caregivers (DOI 10.1007/s10643-014-0647-4). Given the kind of treatment necessitated by a cancer diagnosis, an infant’s relationship building, attachment, and the routines succeeded normally or as a part of the attachment process to primary caregivers (mother, father, etc.) can be severely disrupted by their medical care. The anxiety felt during periods of separation, the pain of constant blood drawings to assess vitals or chemotherapy drug administration, and constant exposure to a variety of people and abnormal situations can negatively impact a child’s ability to cope, a benchmark usually reached between three and six months of age (Miller Lecture). The treatment of cancer also necessitates procedures including MRIs and CT scans, which typically involve a restriction in movement and thus exploration. The kind of exploration that is limited is but one of the developmental milestones of an infant, between nine and twelve months, its restriction can correlate negatively with developmental status (Miller lecture,

The common argue which in medical area is the scientist’s keen to research about the relationship between the cancer and psychology. Cancer is comment disease, also as known as malignant tumors, has become a threat to human health and life of common disease, even become a major case of human death. Cancer occurred for any age, race, and gender. The reason and the result of the cancer are different because of the diverse of population and situation, and the mental activity of patients depends not only on disease. (American Cancer Society)

Well, not quite. She doesn’t say cancer right away. Mom and Dad don’t know all the details yet, and Mom doesn’t reveal the cancer part right away. But she tells you that Henri has to have his kidney removed. And that’s scary. It’s scary to me and I’m seven years older than you are. Your little brother has cancer. You’ll cry, right there in the car, with Henri’s friend Ava in the back seat. Mom will cry a little too. Mom will cry a lot in the next year, she’s just as strong as Henri is. You get home and Henri is in the front lawn. He got to go to Burger King for lunch, in between his tests, and he got a green dinosaur toy. He’s just sitting there, playing. Happy. Looking back on that, I know now how miraculous that is. How incredible bravery is amplified by youthful innocence. You won’t understand that, and that’s ok. There are a lot of