Cancer is a word which evokes many different images and emotions. Nothing in this world can prepare a person for the utter devastation of finding out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, especially when this person is a child. Over the past twenty five years the amount of research and the survival rate for children suffering with cancer have increased dramatically. Despite these successes, the funding for new research necessary to keep these children alive and healthy is miniscule and too dependent on short term grants. Of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer treatments and research less than a third is contributed to researching pediatric cancer. Given the media focus on adult cancers, research for pediatric cancer is underfunded. In order to maintain the increasing survival rate of the children undergoing pediatric cancer and support those who have survived the disease, better funding is quintessential to develop and further promote research.
Government funding has proven to be essential and effective in the fight against cancer. On December 23, 1971 President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, which promised to finance the quest for the cure. Financial aid such as this has directly benefitted survival rates for those diagnosed with cancer. Forty years ago before such funding was provided, when a child was diagnosed with cancer most physicians considered the patient to be terminally ill and supportive care was almost the only thing offered to the family. However over the last few decades, due to research and participation in clinical trials performed due to funding, the majority of children are cured. Because of the creations of new drugs and therapies as a result of government aid, the survival rat...
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Pediatric oncology has been so very rewarding in many ways, but also so very cruel in a few ways. The good days are great, but the sad days are heartbreaking. But beyond the death and the suffering, there is a whole other layer of
Irish playwright, George Bernard, once said that “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Can someone truly “create themselves” when his or her life’s quality and longevity are in jeopardy? It is very sad to think about children who have been diagnosed with cancer and that if they lose their battle, may never get to live a full, healthy life like their peers. According to the Childhood Cancer Foundation, a staggering 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide each year; for 25% of them, the disease will be fatal. An estimated 13,500 children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age are diagnosed annually with some form of cancer in the United States alone. Those who do make it through their adolescent years have a greater risk of developing chronic health problems or secondary cancers in their later years. It goes without saying that the disease creates much hardship, pain and suffering. That being so, support for families and patients going through this hardship is very critical. There are many organizations that strive to be that backbone for these families. The Make a Wish Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House for example believe that, if a child is exposed to positive experiences and atmospheres, it will have an overall positive effect on his or her health and wellbeing. These support groups provide great opportunities for struggling families, but ultimately that can only go so far. Cancer not only compromises the patient’s physical health, but also affects the social, mental, economic, and emotional well-being of their entire family.
Childhood cancer is a life altering experience, not only for a child, but for their entire family. It is the leading cause of death in children from the time of birth to 14 years of age, defined by the ag...
Every year too many lives are affected or taken by cancer. To be exact every year in the U.S. there are about 15,780 kids between the ages of birth and nineteen years
Cancer is a deadly disease that affects many people worldwide. This year about 564,800 Americans are expected to die of cancer, 18,000 of those people will be under the age of 18. That’s more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. One of every four deaths in the US is from cancer. Since 1990, there have been approximately 5 million cancer deaths. CITE THIS MOTHERFUCKER!! Each year, the parents of approximately 150,000 kids hear the words “your child has cancer.” That’s 43 children a day. In order to understand how cancer affects a family in everyday life as it relates to Cancer Slam by Ansley Dauenhauer, it is necessary to examine how cancer affects someone financially,
It can establish government subsidies for independent researchers who are fighting the war on cancer. It can increase the taxable deduction for people who choose to donate money to find a cure. Finally it can help make the drugs and other hospital services more affordable. The deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld asserts “cancer shows that poverty remains one of the most potent a carcinogen-rivaling tobacco and obesity-as we have ever seen.” His argument is a powerful one. He’s claiming that those with more money can potentially avoid dying or prolong their life. Lichtenfeld continues “sitting right in front of our noses is the fact that...at least 37% of cancer deaths in people between the ages of 27 and 64 could be avoided right now.” If the government helps those with less money afflicted by this awful disease, that 37% could potentially be a lot lower. Lichtenfeld is clearly a leader in his field, so his comments are valuable as a source, but alarming nevertheless. It’s startling to think that in this day in age, a cancer patient could potentially not receive the needed treatment because he can’t pay for the
In 1946, a woman by the name of Mary Lasker, a member of the original ASCC, helped raise more than $4 million for the Society, where one million of it was used to establish and fund infamous cancer research (ACS Inc, 2011). Soon after, Dr. Sidney Farber, one of the Society’s first research grantees, achieved the first temporary cancer remission in a child with acute leukemia using the drug Aminopterin (ACS Inc, 2011). The ACS has been developing research theories for decades, with approximately $3.5 billion dedicated to finding a cure to cancer through research (ACS, 2011). With the ACS name nationally recognized, they were able to help fund many national, government, and hospital prevention strategies and research.
Pediatric Oncology is at the heart of many organizations. There are many financial and emotional burdens associated with a loved one having cancer, and thanks to these foundations parents and children can sleep a little bit better at night knowing that someone has their back. Some of the more prominent groups that have an impact here in our community are: Alliance for Childhood Cancer, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, CURE Childhood Cancer, and National Cancer Institute (Mccaul). These are organizations that make an impact in the lives of the children battling cancer and their families. Whether an organization has been started in memory of a loved one or to support a college or hospital, organizations like those listed above have
Currently, the United States of America contain thousands of people who are battling with diseases every day. On a yearly basis, a family member does the unthinkable by putting a member of their family to rest. One disease that kills numerous people each year is lung cancer. To a majority of individuals, the thought of lung cancer is devastating while to others it causes confusion and a lack of understanding. Why? What is lung cancer? What causes lung cancer? These are common questions one faces after receiving a lung cancer prognosis. Luckily, there are organizations whose sole purpose is to decipher the disease, work on treatment, and conceivably one day a cure. Lung cancer claims the lives of countless people each year and to
DeVita, Vincent. Cancer Principles & Practice of Oncology. 9th. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a Walters Kluwer business, 2011. Print.
Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer in children. Cancer kills more children than any other disease. Over 2,300 children with cancer die each year (Ibackjack, 2013, p.1). Cancer causes pain, stress, anxiety and many more physical behaviors, but how can music therapy affect those behaviors? This paper will demonstrate the physical effects cancer has on children and how music therapy can promote improvement in these areas.
It takes a lot to become a child’s hero. To be able to be recognized as one is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Being an Oncology Pediatric Nurse helps kids overcome cancer to help them achieve having a healthy and happier life. As a nurse’s main goal, they hope to get the ability to be able to cure every child from cancer.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Tumors are then created and interfering with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems. It is one of the most leading causes of death, reaching at about 8.2 million deaths in 2012. It is expected that cancer will rise from 14 million to 22 million within the next 2 decades. With over 100 cancer research centers in the United States studying how to treat this disease, people need to understand the importance of donating also with the awareness of signs and symptoms in the early stages. But, what are we doing about it? Do we have the technology to finally be able to put this deadly disease to an end?
...xt of pediatric cancer treatment/research, conducted parent interviews, and administered clinician questionnaires to examine these issues” with the 14 children. Some of the parents were asked some of the similar questions but were asked much less (Quinn, Olechnowicz Joseph, Eder Michelle, Simon Christian, Zyzanski Stephen, and Kodish Eric).
When one hears the word “cancer”, thoughts about how their previous life is about to change cloud the mind, but when one hears the word cancer for their child, it is a whole different outlook; the affects of childhood cancer are not only taken on by the patients, but also by their families; the affects can range from emotionally to physically, socially to financially, and even educationally. “Childhood cancer is considered rare, especially compared with adults. Still it’s the leading cause of death in children pre-adolescent, school-aged children” (Report: Childhood Cancer Rates Continue to Rise, but Treatment Helps Drive Down Deaths). Around 12,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year and around one in five children that are diagnosed with cancer will die.