Understanding Psychology And Childhood Cancer Essay

Poverty also influences our responses to health and illness. The level of income below that which people cannot afford a minimum, nutritionally adequate diet, suitable and secure housing, heating and hot water, and beds to sleep on.

When it comes to cancer, so much of the world’s knowledge is based on statistics. For example, each day forty-six children, or more than two full classrooms of kids, are diagnosed with cancer and one out of every three hundred thirty people will develop cancer before the age of twenty. The simplest and most important of these statistics is this, “Cancer is the number one cause of death by disease in children.” Pediatric cancer takes the lives of more people than the number of children who die from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and pediatric AIDS combined! About one thousand three hundred and eighty children are expected to die from cancer this year alone. Although the cure rate of children with cancer is steadily increasing for most childhood cancers over the past five years, the number of children who will die is overwhelming and unacceptable.

| Recognise patterns and triggers which may lead to inappropriate behavioural responses and take action to pre-empt, divert or diffuse potential flash points

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.

According to the American Cancer Society, there are sixteen major types of childhood cancers and over 100 subtypes. Leukemia and Lymphoma cancer are the most common cancers that children get at a young age. Everyday forty-six kids are diagnose with childhood cancer and seven children die every day. Childhood cancer kills more kids than Cystic Fibrosis, AIDS, and asthma combined! The worst part about childhood cancer is that the treatment side affects can last a lifetime for these kids. People do not understand that childhood cancer only gets a small percentage of the budget for all cancers. National Cancer Institute budget is around $4.9 billion and only 4% of that sum goes towards childhood cancer.

Cancer is a deadly disease that has some very serious effects on a person both physically and mentally. Cancer can result in a simple surgery that may take only a couple days, or a life-long struggle that leaves someone so fatigued and tired that it makes them want to give up. It will put fear in anyone's eyes and will devastate even the strongest of people, but cancer can bring out the courageousness in a person to fight this disease and not give up. It can be a fatal disease but it can also bring out the strength in someone which is an amazing thing. Cancer has many serious effects on a person's body and their mental health and others, but can also inspire a person to dig deep and fight this disease

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.

“Lets not call cancer patients as patients, they are cancer fighters. They are brave hearts” - Vikrmn, Gura. Nowadays, you hear more and more people getting cancer(13). It is a stress that many people worry about. You worry if one of your parents will get it. You pray your children don't’ get it. It’s a constant worry. You watch television and you can get this horrible monster from microwaving your food, drinking bottled water, carrying your phone in your pocket, using deodorant, coloring your hair and much more. Finding a cure for cancer would be a prayer answered for many.

A study on the child’s mental health involves the mental functioning and the way a child behaves and responds to some instances of life. The study is done by exploring the physiological process and the neurology of a child. The key areas of study include; concentration, mind functioning, emotions, acuity, character and cognition. There are two processes in a child’s development that needs the attention of the parents; physical and the mental development. This is the time that the parent can be able to determine a child’s with mental or physical challenge. The psychology of the child depends on the development of the mind as well as genetic psychology. Genetic psychology is the study of how factors that affect the genetics can

Every 3 minutes a child under the age of 15 is diagnosed with cancer worldwide. (150,000 p.a.) 1

Out of 100,000 children 32.1 cancer diagnoses occur in the age group 0-14, 138.6 occur in the 15-39 age group, and 2,053.8 occur in 40 and older (cancer.gov). Pediatric cancer, being so rare, makes research and development hard to fund because there are not many eligible participants for each specific trial. This creates a “Catch 22” by having a good societal support system, yet not having enough “return-on-investment” (Milne). Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death in children after accidents, however the amount of deaths has lower drastically in recent years. The mortality rate as a whole has decreased by fifty percent in the last thirty years, however for patients with cancers other than lymphoma or leukemia the mortality rate has not declined since 1996 (Analysis of the National Cancer Institute’s Investment). Lymphoma and leukemia are the most common cancers that children are diagnosed with, but there are many more that can occur that need new research in order to discover ways to decrease the current mortality rate. In 1960 it was discovered that leukemia could be treated by “combination chemotherapy and dose intensity” this brought the curability up from 10% before this discovery to 80% by the 1990s (Norris and Adamson). Although this treatment has been successful for leukemia patients, the most common of childhood cancers, it is not as successful with other types of cancer. There are currently clinical trials that take place to begin trying to find treatments or cure for pediatric cancer, however because of lack of funding many of the trials do not continue or never really take off. Due to the lack of funding and efforts put forth into research for pediatric cancer more the 2,500 children die in America every year (thetruth365.org). Children diagnosed with cancer deserve more work to be put into finding a cure so they can go on to live long, happy

Due to the rise of domestic violence in many families, psychologists are helping affected children cope and confront their emotional imprisonment by using various methods. Over the years, there has been a drastic increase in domestic violence cases. In many instances, the children are most affected in the involvement of the violent disputes. Psychologists study the behaviors of affected children and develop a plan of treatment that aim towards the child’s overall health. Psychologists provide the best treatment by immersing themselves inside the child’s situation and connecting with what the child sees. Furthermore, psychologist use a strategy of taking small steps in the overall treatment. Sadly, over the years, there’s been an increase

According to the largest cancer study ever, cancer is actually the leading cause of death in third world nations. It kills more people every year than malaria, HIV and tuberculosis combined. Low- and middle-income countries tend to lag behind in cancer care because this type of treatment is highly expensive to carry out. In nations like Uganda, there may be just one or two doctors trained to

As one can see the price for one single child with cancer treatment that needs necessary care over multiple nights can be, on average, up to 6 figures in the United States (oeconline 2). Statistically, the national cost per child is about equivalent to $815,830 in 2007 dollars (oeconline 1). The average per day costs for pediatric cancer has increased consistently from 2000 to 2005 by over twenty percent, figuratively that is from $14,400 to $17,500 (Nagamine 2). Although the prices are already substantially high they are apparently still on the rise (Nagamine 2).

In recent years, cancer prevalence has been increasing globally. It is now one of the top 10 causes of death among the middle and high income countries worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2008). In Singapore, cancer has surpassed cardiovascular disease and become the top killer over the last 3 years (Ministry of Health, 2007). Breast cancer tops the chart among Singaporean women (Health Promotion Board, 2007). Thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually and it causes approximately 270 deaths each year (Jara-Lazaro, et al., 2010). The lifetime risk that a woman in Singapore getting breast cancer is now 1 in every 17 which has risen compared to past two decades (National Cancer Centre Singapore, 2006). Hence, breast