Brain tumor survivors speak out

Abstract

Although progress has been made in the treatment of childhood brain tumors,work remains to understand the complexities of disease, treatment, and contextual factors that underlie individual differences in outcome. A combination of both an idiographic approach (incorporating observations made by adult survivors of childhood brain tumors) and a nomothetic approach (reviewing the literature for brain tumor survivors as well as childhood cancer survivors) is presented. Six areas of concern are reviewed from both an idiographic and nomothetic perspective, including social/emotional adjustment, insurance, neurocognitive late effects, sexuality and relationships, employment, and where survivors accessed information about their disease and treatment and possible late effects. Guidelines to assist health care professionals working with childhood brain tumor survivors are offered with the goal of improving psychosocial and neurocognitive outcomes in this population. © 2009 by Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses.