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Psychological care shortly after treatment

The end of childhood cancer treatment is a major transition for both children and parents. The daily support of health care professionals falls away, which can lead to uncertainty when returning to ‘normal’ life.

Children

Ending treatment is often experienced as one of the biggest transitions. During treatment, children and parents live day by day and receive a great deal of support from health care professionals. After treatment, much of this support falls away and children need to resume their daily lives. This can lead to feelings of uncertainty. Adolescents in particular may feel disconnected from their peers after everything they have been through, which can result in feelings of loneliness. All of these feelings are very normal in this situation. If a child is distressed by these feelings, peer support or psychological care can be helpful. Educational services in the hospital can also contribute by promoting greater understanding within the school environment.

Although children try to pick up their normal lives again, hospital follow-up appointments remain a recurring part of life. Fear of a relapse, the return of the cancer, can persist for a long time, causing these hospital visits to bring additional stress.

A common phenomenon in this phase is the ‘law of double protection’. This refers to parents and children not sharing certain feelings or thoughts with each other because they want to protect the other from additional burden.

Literature

  • Grootenhuis, M.A., Aarsen, F., & Van den Bergh, E. (2001). Pscyhologische behandeling bij kinderen met kanker. In S. Duijts, R. Sanderman, M. Schroevers, & T. Vos (Eds.), Psychologische patiëntenzorg in de oncologie (pp. 323-334). Uitgeverij Van Gorcum.

  • Grootenhuis, M. A., & Last, B. F. (2003). Stresshantering door kinderen met kanker en hun ouders. Pedagogiek, 23(3), 232-240.

  • Stam, H., Grootenhuis, M. A., Brons, P. P., Caron, H. N., & Last, B. F. (2006). Health‐related quality of life in children and emotional reactions of parents following completion of cancer treatment. Pediatric Blood and Cancer, 47(3), 312-319. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.20661

  • Wakefield, C. E., McLoone, J., Goodenough, B., Lenthen, K., Cairns, D. R., & Cohn, R. J. (2010). The psychosocial impact of completing childhood cancer treatment: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35(3), 262-274. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsp056

  • Wijnberg-Williams, B. J., Kamps, W. A., Klip, E. C., & Hoekstra-Weebers, J. E. (2006). Psychological distress and the impact of social support on fathers and mothers of pediatric cancer patients: long-term prospective results.  Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31(8), 785-792. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsj087