Lasting impressions. A psychosocial support program for adolescents with cancer and their parents

Abstract

Adolescents with cancer undergo numerous stresses due to their disease, its treatment, and its potential late effects. These patients may experience delayed mastery of developmental tasks, intimacy, and independence and may have long-term psychological sequelae. Parents of adolescents with cancer also encounter many stresses related to coping with their child's illness. Lasting Impressions, a support program for adolescent cancer patients and their parents, was developed to help overcome these problems. The purpose of the program is to promote positive mental health and adaptation in participants. This article describes the program's goals and methods for accomplishing them, including components and therapeutic activities. The activities include a scrapbook, a newsletter, peer visitation, and a speakers' bureau. The most recent project is a video that is shown to newly diagnosed cancer patients. This program could be easily replicated by other oncology nurses who work with adolescents or young adults with cancer.