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Eugene A. Meyer, Bernard F. Fuemmeler, Commentary: Psychosocial Functioning of Children and Adolescents Surviving Cancer: The Junior Investigators’ Perspective, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 30, Issue 1, January/February 2005, Pages 47–49, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsi015
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1Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital, Boston, and 2National Cancer Institute, Health Promotion Research Branch
In their articles, Patenaude and Kupst (2005) and Kazak (2005) have aptly provided the next generation of pediatric psycho-oncologists with not only a thorough review of how far we have come but also a direction for future research in the field of pediatric psycho-oncology. Patenaude and Kupst highlight that although substantial progress has been made in a relatively short period, we are only beginning to understand what the psychosocial needs of patients and their families are and how to address them. In both articles, the authors comment that as methods of treatment for cancer have improved and as length of survival has increased, the needs of children and families have changed. For instance, Kazak points out that advances in pharmacological treatments for pain management have decreased the need among some patients for traditional cognitive behavioral therapy for pain management. Patenaude and Kupst point out that as length of survival increases, the need for management of late effects—for example, neurocognitive deficits, infertility, cardiotoxicity—is quickly becoming a burgeoning area of study. Other pertinent issues for children with cancer and their families are decision making regarding treatment options, patient–provider communication, end-of-life care, genetic counseling, and the need to reach out to racial and ethnic minority groups. There is also a need to develop innovative psychosocial interventions that can be feasibly disseminated in practice.
