| Chapter 2: | Background |
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Chapter 2
Background
The following is a review of extant literature relevant to the current project. The review is divided into five major sections. The first section focuses on the nature of cancer, including a discussion of illness characteristics, as well as prevalence and incidence rates, direct and indirect costs associated with morbidity and mortality, and overall trends in childhood cancer. This section also documents the hypothesized etiology, diagnosis, prognosis and course of treatment, and survival rates of childhood cancer. The second section provides a general overview of child/adolescent psychological adjustment to cancer, with distinctions made between children/adolescents currently under treatment for cancer versus those children/adolescents who are long-term cancer survivors.