Childhood Cancer

Childhood Cancer Effects on the Family
While the child suffering from the cancer diagnosis is certainly the one most affected, the parents of children suffering from cancer are a very close second. For every child that suffers from cancer there is a mom, a dad, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives who are also affected in so many ways by the diagnosis. When a child is treated for cancer, many family dynamics must change to make the equation work. Often parents must take a leave of absence from work to be with their child or in extreme cases possibly even quit their job to care for the sick child. In addition to the parents, siblings of the sick child also have to make sacrifices when their brother or sister is diagnosed with cancer.
Often times when a child is diagnosed with cancer, the family dynamic changes dramatically as does how the family operates. As Williams et al., (2013) stated, “parenting in the context of childhood cancer often requires an indefinite adjustment as treatment and the added concerns about late medical and psychological effects of disease and treatment often continues several years after diagnosis” (p. 80). Having a child with cancer is an adjustment and will continue to be an adjustment even after treatment is over because one must find the new normal of life. Williams et al., (2013) examined the impact of childhood cancer on parenting and conducted interviews with fifty-seven parents of children and
However, with children life after cancer could essentially be the rest of their lives. The beauty of medical advancements in the wide world of cancer is that for many, remission and a full and happy life is feasible. This is especially true for children who have their full lives ahead of them. However for some diagnosed with childhood cancer it is hard to regain their life after remission because “the experience of cancer involves a period of identity construction, integrating the experience into one’s self-concept, new life path and social role” (Mckenzie & Curl, 2012, p.647). In addition to regaining their self-identity after remission, there is also the constant fear of late side effects from the treatment or even relapse. Ladier, Armenian, & Bhatia (2015) stated that “40% of childhood cancer survivors experience a late effect that is severe, life threatening, disabling, or fatal as many as 30 years from diagnosis” (p.276). In addition to worrying about a late effect, there is also the chance of lifelong side effects from treatment such as: hearing loss, cognitive impairment, neurocognitive impairment, cardiovascular complications, osteonecrosis of the joints, and many more (Landier et al., 2015; Davis et al., 2014). There is also the change of neoplasm after childhood cancer, for example the 30-year cumulative incidence of neoplasm after leukemia was 5.6%