| Chapter 2: | Background |
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Fortunately, childhood cancer has gradually changed from being an inevitably fatal illness to a life-threatening chronic condition due to advances in medical science and technology. Despite increases in survival rates, however, a concrete etiological basis remains to be found, with current evidence highlighting the complex interplay of environmental and genetic factors likely involved in the manifestation of the illness. This lack of concrete etiology understandably leads to distress among both children with cancer and their parents. Further complicating matters is the fact that treatments for childhood cancer are often intense and invasive and they often result in deleterious short- and long-term effects. In the section that follows, we will discuss how children and adolescents adjust to this highly unpredictable and invasive illness, both during the treatment for cancer and during the stages of cancer survivorship.
Child and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment to Cancer
Children and Adolescents Currently Under Treatment for Cancer
Empirical investigations—utilizing standardized assessment measures—of the psychological adjustment of childhood cancer patients have resulted in mixed findings. Some studies suggest that children and adolescents with cancer are at increased risk for adjustment problems (e.g., Erikson & Steiner, 2001; Greenberg, Kazak, & Meadows, 1989; Kazak et al., 2001; Meeske, Ruccione, Globe, & Stuber, 2001; Mulhern, Wasserman, Friedman, & Fairclough, 1989; Sawyer, Toogood, Rice, Haskell, & Baghurst, 1989), while other studies suggest that their adjustment is comparable to that of control samples and standardized norms (e.g., Brown et al., 1992; Eiser, Hill, & Vance, 2000; Kaplan, Busner, Weinhold, & Lenon, 1987; Noll, Bukowski, Davies, Koontz, & Kulkarni, 1993; Patenaude & Kupst, 2005; Phipps & Srivastava, 1997).