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Survival statistics for childhood cancer cannot predict individual outcomes. Optimism tempered by realism is the most effective strategy for patient and family management.
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The story of cancer survivorship has many articles, some with ambiguous endings.
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Cancer survivors must not be identified by that designation alone. They should continue to pursue a life trajectory that transcends “survival.”
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A physician/parent experiences his child’s illness and medical care with overlapping and at times
When Childhood Cancer Becomes a Family Affair, It Really Hits Home
Section snippets
Key points
Memories of Memories
While on a recent trip to Reno, I spent the better part of a day digging through boxes of my childhood belongings, things that had been moved from our former home in Georgia out to my parents’ new house in Nevada. Most of the memorabilia I hadn’t seen in years, if not decades. I was looking for something specific, something I never found—a photo album filled with faces of former Kindergarten and first-grade classmates. Instead, I uncovered several more interesting items, in particular a few
When a pediatric oncologist’s own son is a patient: a parent’s view
I call it, “The best credential that I never wanted.”
As a pediatric oncologist, it’s clear that being the father of a childhood cancer survivor gives me a certain advantage over my colleagues. When I meet a new patient with cancer and his or her family, I don’t immediately tell them that my now adult son, David, was treated for leukemia as a child; this is clearly not the first thing they want to know. But at some point in our initial conversations about their own child’s diagnosis, treatment
Disclosure
The authors have nothing to disclose.
References (5)
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Survivors of childhood cancer in the United States: prevalence and burden of morbidity
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
(2015) - et al.
Changes in neurocognitive function and central nervous system structure in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia survivors after treatment: a meta-analysis
Br J Haematol
(2020)