Psychosocial needs of long-term childhood cancer survivors: a review of literature

Abstract

With improved medical treatment for childhood cancer, many patients are enjoying long disease-free remission or cure. It is important to address the psychosocial adjustment of the survivor's life. There are two approaches to the study of psychosocial adjustment: study of psychiatric disturbances and assessment of quality of life. Incidences of psychiatric disturbances were reviewed with the most commonly reported difficulties being depression, anxiety and chemical dependency for older survivors and school attendance problems and learning difficulties for school age survivors. The assessment of quality of life focused on school performance, social adjustment, employment status, independent living and marital status. In addition, family coping has received increasing emphasis with regard to the effects on marital relationship and financial difficulties, although there is no consistent evidence to suggest an increased divorce rate in these families. Healthy siblings of cancer survivors are also subject to vulnerability. However, there is evidence to suggest most siblings will resolve their feelings of jealousy, fear of abandonment and establish a normal sibling relationship with the survivor.