Childhood Cancer Survivorship

Improving Care and Quality of Life

Author: Simone, Joseph V.; Weiner, Susan L.; Hewitt, Maria
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 9780309088985
eISBN Pdf: 9780309505819
eISBN Epub: 9780309167192
Place of publication: United States
Year of digital publication: 2003
Month: September
Pages: 225
DDC: 616
Language: English

Caption

Only more recently has it been realized that the intense effort to care for and cure a child with cancer does not end with survival. Continued surveillance and a variety of interventions may, in many cases, be needed to identify and care for consequences of treatment that can appear early or only after several decades and impair survivors' health and quality of life.

The more than two-thirds of childhood cancer survivors who experience late effects—that is, complications, disabilities, or adverse outcomes—as a result of their disease, its treatment, or both, are the focus of this report which outlines a comprehensive policy agenda that links improved health care delivery and follow-up, investments in education and training for health care providers, and expanded research to improve the long-term outlook for this growing population now exceeding 270,000 Americans.