Taking a Look at Pediatric Cancer

Would a person say the number forty-three, out of all the numbers in existence, is small? That person would probably say yes, but what if someone said forty-three children a day are diagnosed with cancer (Duncan, Geoff). With the widespread of cancer, one should try to envision themselves as a pediatric oncologist because of the comfortable environment of the work, the great gain of knowledge and salary, and benefits of healing people.

According to the parents, physicians mainly focused on the physical symptoms of the child. Most of the psychological symptoms of both the child and the parent were not acknowledged by health professionals (Theunissen et al., 2007). Despite this result, there have been substantial research conducted to create measures that can gauge the quality and effect of palliative care mostly for adults. However, data collected from these studies may be applied to interventions created to help children with cancer.

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.

Childhood cancer takes a tremendous toll on a family in general. It can be absolutely catastrophic without knowledge of the various strategies and coping tools successfully used by other families with histories of childhood cancer. Every year over 3,500 children are diagnosed with cancer (Yoak, 38). The news is devastating to a family. They are faced with a life altering event and the difficult task of helping the child understand what is happening to their bodies. No doubt the doctors and hospital staff will be able to facilitate most of the explanations of the diagnosis and treatment plan. However, I would like to enlighten the readers of this paper about the coping mechanisms utilized by many families to help them to survive this illness.

Owing to the fact that childhood cancer has become more treatable with higher survival rates, researches are fixated to understand juvenile psycho-oncology more and the long haul habitation of cancer survivors. A group of German researchers have collaborated with one another to study the psychological impact of youths who have battled childhood cancer and how they have managed to stay strong, emotionally (Wenninger, 2013, p. 854).

In light that a considerable number of survivors of pediatric cancer do not experience marked disease burden including other psychological factors that is not evident until their adolescence and mid adult years, it is critical to understand their plight in order to create strategies to enable them to have better lives. Cancer is an impending problem currently with nearly all families having interacted with or are related to individuals who have experienced these problems. In light of the increase in childhood cancer, it is critical to equip families and individuals for the implication of the problem socially and culturally, the problem of reintegrating the individuals who have suffered childhood cancer back into the community or even the learning circles is a difficult task. The ability to understand the basis of the problem will enable everybody to have the knowledge of why it is difficult and help in the integration

One of the issues in the health sector is pediatric palliative care. Pediatric palliative care has gained more recognition, opportunities and availability in the past few years. It is a model of care that focuses on both patients with life-limiting diseases and their family members. In pediatric palliative care, the model of care lays more emphasis on children having life-limiting diseases and their family members. In pediatrics, family members of the child are also affected. Pediatric palliative care focuses on ensuring that the quality of life of the sick child and the family improves. It achieves this by ensuring that they are provided with appropriate relief from symptoms, stress and pains caused by the illness.

Young patients and their families who are diagnosed with childhood cancer have a very difficult time coping with the situation at hand. Due to the overwhelming feeling of uncertainty it is pivotal that all health care members are involved in the promotion of quality of life in the hospital settings and in their home. Nurses especially are given the opportunity with each interaction to help a patient and their families find ways to cope with their diagnosis. The purpose of this article is to discuss how uncertainty decreases coping mechanisms and what interventions are implemented to effectively cope and adapt to their diagnosis.

The word "cancer" strikes fear in everyone who gets diagnosed. Cancer does not discriminate; people, sparing no ethnic group, female or male, no matter the age, are diagnosed. Sadly, there has been a significant increase in the cancer rate in children, of all people, over the years. Cancer is an abnormal growth of cells. Cancer cells rapidly reproduce despite restriction of space, nutrients shared by other cells, or signals sent from the body to stop reproduction. Cancer cells are often shaped differently from healthy cells, they do not function properly, and they can spread to many areas of the body. Tumors, which are abnormal growth of tissue, are clusters of cells that are capable of growing and dividing uncontrollably; their growth

In my early college years, a friend briefly mentioned that there was place so extraordinary that he wanted to return every year. When I asked him more about this, he elaborated that this haven was at a childhood cancer summer camp called Special Days, which brings in children who have or have had cancer, as well as their siblings. He attended this camp in his youth after his sister developed cancer at a young age, but when he grew older he decided to return as a volunteer to make a difference in the lives of new campers. He invited me to volunteer with him one summer, and it was rewarding as I established meaningful relationships with the campers and the other volunteers. It was this experience that would serve as my inspiration to engage in

In the United States, approximately 375,000 children survive cancer throughout their childhood, and live a long life as an adult. This equals 1 in every 530 adults, between the ages of 20-39. Today, due to advances in treatments, more than 8 out of 10 children who are treated for cancer survive to at least 5 years, and the majority of these children are cured. One of the greater risk factors for developing cancer is aging. In actuality, in the United States, more than 60% of cancers occur in adults 65 years or older. Both children and adults, who are diagnosed with life-threatening cancer, develop emotional and mental disorders; however, children, with a diagnosis of cancer, are more prone to develop mental disorders due to treatment on

It creates a lot of stress and anxiety for families. Kristin Wikel, a teacher who supervises Riley Children’s Hospital’s school program, states, “when a child is diagnosed with cancer, the single most stressful aspect for parents is handling that news. And the next question, 90 percent of the time, is, 'what about school?’”

As Ardyn squeezed me tightly, I could feel the warm affection emanating from this vibrant and adorable 4-year-old girl. That she maintained such a feeling of joy surprised me, particularly as most adults would have descended into despair upon learning that they had renal carcinoma. I had previously volunteered in a children’s cancer clinic, so perhaps I should have understood the dynamic, but the tragedy of a child with a potentially fatal disease never ceases to sting me at my emotional core. Indeed, among the sad lessons I learned over and over was that cancer does not just afflict a single person. An entire family is affected- a fact that makes treating child cancer patients much more complex.

Coping with Pediatric Cancer: Strategies Employed by Children and Their Parents to Manage Cancer-Related Stressors During Treatment has each pediatric participant and caregiver answer three questions. “The first question stating, what was hard for you/your child when you found out about the diagnosis? Second, what was hard for you/ your child during the cancer treatment? Lastly, what things do you do to cope/how do you help your child cope during the cancer and or cancer treatment? (Hildenbrand et al., 2011).” Each question is followed up

The families of these patients as well as the patient themselves experience things that can cause harm to the stress levels of both the child and the parents. The patients and their family experience strain in the relationship that they have with each other and find it hard to cope with this. Some people don’t realize that even if the child does recover from the disease, the life of the child after treatment is never the same. As Flosnik and Griffith2 say in their article, “An evaluation of emotional problems in a young adult cancer survivor should take into account the developmental effects of the original cancer diagnosis on the patient and the patient’s family.”