Pediatric Oncology: Psychosocial Care in Context

Abstract

This chapter discusses psychosocial care in pediatric oncology. Cancer in children has always been inexorably linked to feelings of unfathomable unfairness, urgent pleas for cures, and the psychological challenges for patients and their families. While the incidence of childhood cancer represents only about 2 % of all cancers, the impact of its treatment extends beyond the child and includes the family and the community. The worldwide incidence of childhood cancer has been estimated lo be about 200,000 cases annually. Approximately 80 % of children are cured in developed countries, but that cure rate is inversed in resource poor countries where often less than 20 % of children are cured. The promise of finding curative therapies for children and adults with cancer ignited much enthusiasm and hope that in turn led to several important initiatives. Subsequent efforts led to the development of more integrated, comprehensive cancer centers, broad-based anti-cancer drug screening, preclinical models, pediatric and medical oncology specialty training, as well as the beginnings of cooperative clinical trial groups. In many ways, the work that focused on curing children with cancer pioneered many of the optimal approaches to understanding and optimizing the treatment of all patients with cancer. Other key approaches took advantage of new scientific insights and the exploitation of older drugs, as many newer drugs lagged behind or were never approved for children. Pediatric investigators and caregivers pioneered the need for optimal supportive care and they established integrated, multidisciplinary care teams. Further, the development of carefully designed national and sometimes international cooperative group clinical trials, has clearly played a fundamental role in improving survival rates to what they are today. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)