Pediatric cancer
12 articles shown
When a Child on Chemotherapy Starts to Cough — Understanding Infection Risk During the Low-Immunity Window and When to Call the Care Team
When a child on chemotherapy develops a cough, this article explains infection risk during the low-immunity window (the neutrophil nadir), the fever and breathing signs to watch for, and how to know when to call the care team.
When Parents Break Down at Their Child's Side: How to Reach Out for Help Before Burnout Hits
A caregiving parent's burnout is not a sign of weakness but a normal reaction to being pushed past one's limits. This piece helps you recognize signals such as sleep trouble, irritability, and emotional numbness, and lays out how to actively draw in outside help: counseling with the hospital's medical social work team, medical and caregiving support programs, family support groups, short-term respite care, and mental health counseling.
Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant: What to Prepare at Home Before Admission
A guide to what to prepare at home before admission ahead of a pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant. It covers clearing up sources of infection such as cavities and inflammation in advance, coordinating the vaccination schedule, preparing disinfectable items and videos and books for the clean room, checking the caregiver's belongings and documents, and agreeing within the family on infection control. As a rule, specific decisions should be discussed with the attending medical team.
Pediatric Solid Tumors: How Are They Different from Adult Cancers - Types and Features at a Glance
Pediatric solid tumors refer to cancers that grow by forming a mass somewhere in the body, excluding blood cancers. Unlike adult cancers, they often start from immature cells, and the types are diverse: brain tumors, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma, and more. Because symptoms overlap with common minor ailments, they are hard to notice, so it is wise to seek care for symptoms that persist or worsen beyond two to three weeks. Diagnosis is by imaging and biopsy, treatment combines surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and childhood cancers tend to respond to treatment better than adult cancers.
Our Child on Chemotherapy: Hand Washing and Hygiene Habits to Prevent Infection
A child undergoing chemotherapy has weakened immunity and is easily infected even by common germs. This piece lays out how the child and the whole family can make 20-second soap hand washing a habit, and how to look after household hygiene, safe meals, and visitor management together. A fever of 38 degrees or higher is an emergency, so do not hesitate to contact the medical team.
Back to the Classroom: The Day My Child Returned to School After Finishing Childhood Cancer Treatment
A parent's firsthand account of guiding a child back to school after completing treatment for pediatric leukemia. It covers meeting with the homeroom and school nurse in advance, a gradual return starting with half-days, practicing answers to classmates' questions, and the realistic road to recovering learning and concentration after chemotherapy.
Helping a Child in Treatment Keep Their Ties to Friends
This piece gathers ways to help a child who has had to step away from school and daily life for treatment hold on to relationships with peers. From early in treatment, keep the connection with one or two close friends alive, communicate lightly through video calls, messages, and games to match the child’s condition, and respect the child’s wishes about how much to share regarding the illness. Through the homeroom teacher and the hospital school, maintain a sense of belonging at school, and prepare in advance for the return so that friendship — another pillar of support — is protected.
"Mom, Am I Sick?" — What Parents Should Know When Explaining Cancer to a Child
Explaining the illness to a child who has been diagnosed with cancer is one of the hardest tasks a parent faces. The key is to tell it honestly and briefly, in simple words suited to the child’s age. Children are more frightened by things like "Am I going to die," "Is it my fault," and "Is it contagious," so it helps to clear up self-blame and fears of contagion first, to explain repeatedly rather than just once, and not to block the child’s expression of feelings. The piece also covers caring for siblings and for the parents themselves, and making use of the hospital’s psychological counseling.
Caring for Your Child’s Pain and Vomiting at Home During Chemotherapy
This piece gathers practical ways to handle pain and vomiting when caring at home for a child undergoing chemotherapy. It covers giving pain medication steadily on a fixed schedule, offering food in small amounts often, and the signs of dehydration and the criteria for an emergency call — the points to watch from a parent’s perspective.
So Hospitalization Isn’t Scary: Soothing a Child’s Heart Through Play
This piece gathers ways to soothe, through play therapy, the heart of a child who struggles with an unfamiliar hospital stay. Doll hospital play and role reversal help the child express their fears, while the frustration of a long admission is eased through activities like the playroom, coloring, and clay. It also covers the parent’s role — bringing familiar dolls and blankets and honestly telling the child about tests in advance — and making use of the hospital’s play therapy programs.
Childhood Leukemia: Sharing Family Roles Through the Long Treatment Journey — One Family’s Story
One family shares its experience of the long road from a childhood leukemia diagnosis through remission induction and maintenance therapy. They divided the parents’ roles into primary caregiver and administrative handler, cared for the healthy sibling and the sick child alike, exchanged information with other parents on the same ward, and found ways for caregivers to avoid burnout.
Staying Beside a Sick Child Without Burning Out
Parents caring for a sick child wear themselves down with no room to care for themselves. From the bare minimum of self-care like sleep and meals, to letting go of guilt, the courage to ask for help, how couples can share the load, and connecting with parents in the same situation, this piece warmly walks through how to protect yourself first so you can stay beside your child to the end.