Pediatric Cancer

1. Potential impacts of having pediatric cancer on education and academic success

This week I had my eight year old daughter home with as she had a stomach bug. She is a child who thrives at school and wakes up every morning full of energy to go to school. She was so sad that she had to miss school for so many days. This made me just imagine the stress, the impact chronic illnesses have on young children and their families in reference to academic achievement.

St.Jude children’s hospital reports that, cancer today, is still the leading cause of death among children ages 1 and up. This year around 3,000 children will be diagnosed with Leukemia (a cancer of white blood cells) and causes are still mostly unknown. The good news is that survival rate among childhood cancer has moved up to 80% from 20% in 1960s.

Diagnosis and treatment procedures of pediatric cancer can have an impact on the patients as well as their families. The impact is felt on emotional well being of the children and on their academic achievements (Drotar et al, 2006). According to Newacheck et al (1992) chronic illnesses among children can have varying impacts from high to low, however, some impact is inevitable. The impact of the illness varies with the intensity of the treatment and health conditions, with respiratory and cancer being in the lead.

Sexson & Madan-Swain (1993) highlight that being absent from school due to hospitalizations, doctor’s visits is part of adjustments and stressors that children with cancer have to deal with. Reentry into the school after an absence can be challenging that young children find an anxiety or stress trigger.

The impact of pediatric cancer can be on academic success and on other activities that are part of school life.   Noll et al (1999) used a case control method to understand the emotional well being of children suffering from any kind of cancer. They concluded that these children scored well on the emotional well being but reported low satisfaction on ‘athletic competence’. Education is more than just books, good grades and children with cancer feel an effect of their illness from different angles.

2. Two ways pediatric cancer can impact peer relationships

Trask et al (2003) study highlights the importance of peer and close family relations. Adolescents report feeling less stressed when they experienced positive correlations with their peers and close friends. They also express that their close friends are their strongest source of adaptability and social support. The role of peer relationships cannot be undermined in lives of normal adolescents, and its impact on children with cancer is equally important.  

I have always believed that there is a certain maturity that comes from enduring a trauma and as unfair it seems for a child to suffer from cancer, it brings about a certain maturity in these children. I wanted to discuss another side of the picture as well. Adolescents suffering from cancer or have survived cancer are capable of viewing or feeling about peer relations unlike others.

Noll et al (1993) evaluated the psychosocial adaptations of adolescents with cancer who were going through treatment or off treatment. Their study show that adolescents who battle cancer report from feeling isolated but also express as not being affected by it. The study also found these adolescents similar to their peers on ‘numerous psychological function’.

3. One strategy a school may use to support a student with pediatric cancer

Forming a support group or holding sessions off campus and out of regular school hours is the best way to help children get academic strength. Bluebond-Langer et al (1991) write about using the strategy of offering summer camps specifically for pediatric cancer patients. They report that though the peer relationships children make at these camps are not the same as with health peers, but still children value these relations. It gives them an advantage that they would not have without them.

References

Bluebond-Langer, M., Perkel, D., & Goertzel, T. (1991). Pediatric cancer patients' peer relationships: The impact of an oncology camp experience.Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 9(2), 67-80.

Drotar, D., Witherspoon, D. O., & Zebracki, K., Psychological interventions in childhood chronic illness. Copyright 2006 American Psychological Association Books. Used with permission from American Psychological Association via the Copyright Clearance Center. 

Newacheck, P. W., & Taylor, W. R. (1992). Childhood chronic illness: prevalence, severity, and impact. American Journal of public health, 82(3), 364-371.

Noll, R. B., Bukowski, W. M., Davies, W. H., Koontz, K., & Kulkarni, R. (1993). Adjustment in the peer system of adolescents with cancer: A two-year study.Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 18(3), 351-364.

Noll, R. B., Gartstein, M. A., Vannatta, K., Correll, J., Bukowski, W. M., & Davies, W. H. (1999). Social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of children with cancer. Pediatrics, 103(1), 71-78.

Sexson, S. B., & Madan-Swain, A. (1993). School reentry for the child with chronic illness. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26(2), 115-137.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. (2012). St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. Pediatric Cancer Genome Project. Retrieved fromhttp://www.pediatriccancergenomeproject.org/site/press-release

Trask, P. C., Paterson, A. G., Trask, C. L., Bares, C. B., Birt, J., & Maan, C. (2003). Parent and adolescent adjustment to pediatric cancer: associations with coping, social support, and family function. Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, 20(1), 36-47.