Chemo, Craziness & Comfort


Book Description

This book was created to help young patients and their families understand about cancer, how it is treated, and ways to manage it. It shares stories and advice from children who have finished their treatments




Pediatric Cancer, Volume 4


Book Description

This entry in the series Pediatric Cancer offers comprehensive information on a variety of cancers, concentrating on brain tumors, the most common solid tumors and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. The contents are organized in seven sections: Neuroblastoma, Medulloblastoma, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Rhabdoid, Sarcoma and Miscellaneous Tumors. Coverage includes pediatric medulloblastoma, and treatments including craniospinal radiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. The contributors explain diagnosis and chemotherapy of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and diagnosis of bone marrow involvement in pediatric lymphoma patients. Ewing’s sarcoma, a highly malignant connective tissue neoplasm formed by the proliferation of mesenchymal cells, receives extensive coverage, including targeting of molecular pathways and chemotherapy and surgical treatment. The roles of apoptotic genes, MYCN gene, MDM2, and SNP309, P13K inhibitors, alternative splicing and microRNAs, activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule and inhibition by alu-like RNA in neuroblastoma are discussed in detail. The book explores the molecular genetics, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of the atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). Among the most common malignant neoplasms in children, AT/RT exhibits similarities with other CNS tumors, which can lead to misclassification, as pointed out in the book. The contributors discuss diagnosis of AT/RT type using imaging technology, and describe new strategies, including intensive multimodal therapy and high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation that have shown improved outcomes. Coverage of therapies includes total resection followed by aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. Discussion includes diagnosis and treatment of other pediatric tumors including adrenocortical tumors, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors, giant midline tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, ependymomas and intramedullary cavernoma. Pediatric Cancer: Diagnosis, Therapy and Prognosis, Volume 4 includes contributions by ninety-one contributors - oncologists, neurosurgeons, physicians, research scientists and pathologists - representing thirteen countries. The editor, M.A. Hayat, is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Kean University, Union, New Jersey, USA.




What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer


Book Description

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, life flips upside-down. Suddenly, our days (and our thoughts) are dominated by doctors, nurses, child life specialists, and a million technical terms that will make anyone's head spin. Add extreme fear and anxiety to that, and you've got a recipe for the most stressful time in a family's life.What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer is a book written with purpose of relieving the anxiety and confusion that comes from a child's cancer diagnosis and treatment.What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer covers the main points of pediatric cancer - what it is and what the experience of treatment is like - and shows how it can change a kid's day. The book is great for ages 4 -10 and discusses:- The science of cancer- Changes to routines- Surgery and anesthesia - Chemotherapy- Hair loss and hair changes- Port, central line, and tubies- Hospital stays- Radiation- Scans and blood draws- Emotions relating to cancerOver the course of a year and with the help of both experts and families who have been through pediatric cancer, author and illustrator Sara Olsher explains the science of cancer (in an age-appropriate, totally non-scary way) and uses an illustrated calendar to show how various treatments affect a child's day-to-day. This method of teaching is based on decades of solid science about how kids learn and cope with the major day-to-day changes that result from issues like cancer. By creating a routine that kids can see and understand, parents can restore a sense of safety and predictability in their kids' lives, helping them to be more resilient in the face of life's inevitable challenges. What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer? helps families that want to reduce their kids' anxiety surrounding a very scary diagnosis. It aims to empower kids with knowledge, which is proven to help kids through traumatic situations.




Childhood Cancer and Functional Impacts Across the Care Continuum


Book Description

Since the late 1960s, the survival rate in children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer has steadily improved, with a corresponding decline in the cancer-specific death rate. Although the improvements in survival are encouraging, they have come at the cost of acute, chronic, and late adverse effects precipitated by the toxicities associated with the individual or combined use of different types of treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy). In some cases, the impairments resulting from cancer and its treatment are severe enough to qualify a child for U.S. Social Security Administration disability benefits. At the request of Social Security Administration, Childhood Cancer and Functional Impacts Across the Care Continuum provides current information and findings and conclusions regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of selected childhood cancers, including different types of malignant solid tumors, and the effect of those cancers on childrenâ (TM)s health and functional capacity, including the relative levels of functional limitation typically associated with the cancers and their treatment. This report also provides a summary of selected treatments currently being studied in clinical trials and identifies any limitations on the availability of these treatments, such as whether treatments are available only in certain geographic areas.




They Never Want to Tell You


Book Description

They Never Want to Tell You transcends the negative metaphors and clichés of life-threatening disease, to give voice to the culture of cancer and to the behavior and attitudes of those who function within that culture-as patients, medical professionals, family, and friends. In these extraordinary narratives, children coping with cancer reveal their most personal experiences, and they speak with a candor that breaks through the cultural taboos ostensibly designed to protect us from the disease. The rich, compassionate, and honest words of these children give expression to concerns that adults who are struggling with cancer find nearly impossible to articulate. Free of social conventions and cognitive distortions, each story presents a powerful variation on the theme of survival in the face of the continuing uncertainties of life-threatening disease. Bearison, a developmental psychologist and psychotherapist, is keenly aware of the psychological impact of cancer on children, particularly as survival times for childhood cancers lengthen and complex treatments intensify concern about the emotional-not merely physical-well-being of children. Bearison has culled from scores of interviews the most salient moments that represent these individual children in their shared struggle with disease. In these pages the children express their wildest hopes and worst fears about cancer. They speak of the absolute necessity of full disclosure, the problems of relating to friends and family, the difficult adjustment to hair loss, their feelings of punishment, grief, and spirituality, and many other issues. In the course of these stories the children reveal not only their will to survive and their extraordinary capacity to understand themselves and their condition, but their altruistic desire to share that understanding with other children as well as with adults who have cancer. "They Never Want to Tell You" is rich and rewarding reading for cancer patients, their families, and health-care professionals alike.




Chemo to the Rescue


Book Description

Achildren's book about Leukemia.




Pediatric Cancer, Volume 3


Book Description

Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor of childhood as well as the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. This third volume of the Springer series discussing pediatric cancer focuses on diagnosing, treating, and assessing the future course of malignant brain neoplasms in children. In addition to a general introduction to the principals involved, the material includes vital research in molecular genetics, a major contribution to the molecular characterization of solid tumors, which will define new biomarkers of the disease and identify molecular pathways. Now it has become possible to achieve the goal of targeting new, more effective therapies to minimize the tragedy faced by children. This research features the application of molecular genetics in combating atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT), a highly aggressive embryonal CNS tumor that is among the most common malignant neoplasms in children, with a peak occurrence in infants younger than three years old. Contributors also examine the reasons for the common misdiagnosis of AT/RT tumors as other types of CNS tumors. They help resolve this issue by indicating the details of an abnormality in the genetics of AT/RT, which is unique to AT/RT type. The INII gene on chromosome 22q11 is involved in the AT/RT. The presence of this gene and the SMARCB1 is discussed. In addition to discussing these important topics, the volume includes presentations of present and future therapies. The volume also explains AT/RT’s dissemination to the cerebral fluid, the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of medulloblastoma, and the importance of gamma knife radiosurgery during multimodality management of medulloblastoma/PNET tumors. Other topics discussed include using magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing retinoblastoma, and mapping the effects of radiotherapy in low-grade glioma in children. Information on alterations in cell-cycle regulators that are influenced by tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes is detailed. Contributors provide recommendations concerning non-narcotic analgesic routines for children recovering from cranial and spinal surgery. The practical knowledge of frontier-expanding research presented leads this authoritative volume to be a compelling addition to the literature.




Childhood Cancer


Book Description

Clinicians and scientists at the world-famous St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have compiled the most comprehensive and compassionate family reference on childhood cancer--one that covers everything from tests and treatment options to coping with emotions and the life hereafter. Illustrations throughout.




Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology


Book Description

Providing a comprehensive review of the multiple disciplines that make up the care and research agendas for children with cancer, this thoroughly updated edition provides state-of-the-art information on the molecular genetics and biology of cancer as well as new approaches to diagnosis and management.




Childhood Cancer Survivors


Book Description

More than 325,000 children, teens, and adults in the United States are survivors of childhood cancer. The surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and stem cell transplants used to cure children can affect growing bodies and developing minds. If survivors know of these potential problems, they can take steps to identify, cope with, or treat them early if they do develop. The third edition of Childhood Cancer Survivors charts the territory for survivors by providing state-of-the-art information about: " Medical late effects from treatment " Emotional aspects of surviving cancer " Schedules for follow-up care " Challenges in the heath-care system " Lifestyle choices to maximize health " Discrimination in employment or insurance Woven throughout the text are stories from more than 100 survivors and parents. Authors Keene, Hobbie, and Ruccione are experts in the field of childhood cancer. Keene is the mother of a survivor of childhood leukemia and the author of several books including Childhood Leukemia, Childhood Cancer, Educating the Child with Cancer, and Chemo, Craziness & Comfort. Hobbie is Associate Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Ruccione is Co-Director of the HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Psychosocial and Education) Program in the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.