attendance with your child’s doctor. Many pediatric hospitals have school programs that enable children to attend school while hospitalized. School is important because it helps children and adolescents maintain social contact with their peers. Having time with friends will be an important part of your child’s recovery and will ease the adjustment when he or she returns to school. It is important to return your child to school as soon as he or she is medically able to do so.
PROGNOSIS STATEMENT
Prognosis is a word that doctors use to describe what they believe the outcome will be for a patient, including the chances of recovery. Your child’s cancer prognosis is as unique as he or she is. There are many factors that affect survival outcomes. A child’s age at diagnosis, the extent of disease, genetic factors, infections, nutrition, delays in the timing of treatment, and how well your child’s body can tolerate chemotherapy and radiation all play an important role in the child’s long-term outcome. Because general statements about survival rates are just numbers, please talk to your medical team about your child’s individual prognosis and plan of care.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Children’s Oncology Group (www.childrensoncologygroup.org) CureSearch (www.curesearch.org) National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov)
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Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON)
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