(Report of the brain tumor progress review) Conclusion:

It must be stated at this point that although it is indeed unfortunate that young children may be diagnosed with brain tumors, it is a fact that cannot be avoided. These tumors, which occur in about 1,500 to 2,000 children who are diagnosed with malignancies every year in children in the United States of America can be of various different types, and may occur in anybody. The prognosis for a child is definitely better than for an adult, and this can mean that with the proper treatment, the child can hope to live a long and fulfilling life. This paper is about the necessity of effective communication for a health care professional or a clinician with a child with brain tumor and his parents, and it is important to note that unless there is excellent communication between them, the therapy would in all probability not be as effective as it could be if there was better communication between them. Not only would there be more hope for the child and his parent, but the child would be able to lead a better and more productive life in his future, if there was effective communication between the clinician and the child and his parents.

Healthcare communications concerning children with brain tumors- Paper 2

Brain tumors are being considered as the 'Central nervous System' tumors, since that they tend to happen in the central nervous system which includes the brain as also the spinal column. These are the organs that are responsible for sustaining life, and they take care of functions such as breathing, the maintenance of the heart rate, one's movement, and one's thinking and learning processes. Tumors that develop in this vital area may have several unique symptoms and properties, but no matter what, these tumors today account for almost 20% of all cancers that occur in this age group of children. (Deatrick; Thibodeaux, 20) Statistics show that brain tumors are the most commonly occurring solid tumors of childhood, and that about 1,500 to 2,000 malignancies occur every year in children in the United States. (Hay, 898) Tumors in children occur from developing young cells, and for every normal cell type, a corresponding tumor can arise. A child may develop a brain tumor such as the PNET, the medulloblastoma, the embryonic tumor, and various other tumors of the developing brainstem, hypothalamus and the optic nerves. (Brain tumors in children) However, one must remember that the prognosis for a child who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor is better than for an adult, and in more cases than not, the child would be able to make a full and complete recovery, and figures show that the five-year survival rate for a child with a brain tumor of any kind today stands at a 70%. (Bhat; Goodwin, 5495)

One must remember that the news that one's child has developed a brain tumor can be extremely shocking and traumatic for everyone concerned. Therefore, it is a good idea for both parents and children, if they are old enough, to ask as many questions as possible on the subject, so that there can be effective and proper communication between the patient, his family and the attending physicians. The more questions one raises, the more knowledge one may gain about the tumor and how to help the patient, and this knowledge would help parents find the right path on which to guide their child through this traumatic experience and through his recovery. More importantly, the parent would gain the understanding that the scary sounding tumor is curable. Effective communication would not only help the patient and his parent, but also prevent other related problems like for example the behavioral problems that an ill child may exhibit, especially when he has been pulled out of school and has to keep up with his studies despite his illness and his medications. (the Importance of Special Education) His learning difficulties, if any, can...

(Behavior problems in children who have undergone treatment for brain tumors) a child who suffers a 'loss of hope' along with his parents can be taught to regain his hope and to look forward to another day in his life too, if there was effective communication. (Venning; Eliott; Whitford; Honnor, 708)
Furthermore, research, which brings up newer and better methods of therapies and treatments for the child with brain tumor, and which would in all probability prove to be useful for the child in the long run, could be communicated to the child and to his parents, only if the channels for communication were left open under all circumstances. Not only would better communication make it possible to improve the techniques that are used to measure the quality of life, but it would also become possible to filter the ability to detect a response to the existing therapy, as well as to new ones that have not been tried out before, and this may bring out better results for the patient, especially with regard to his quality of life, and to his biological endpoints of response. In some types of brain tumors, unfortunately, no treatment methods exist as yet today, and in these cases especially, it would be of great advantage to the paint if he and his parents were to be able to communicate with his health care professionals and the clinicians who are responsible for handling his case. After all, it is teamwork that could help save a life, and where the life of a patient is at stake, one must leave no stone unturned in the effort to find the best solution for the patient, so that he may go on to lead a long and productive and fulfilling life in the future. (Cure Search.org, a valuable resource for the childhood cancer journey)

References

Bhat, Sundeep R; Goodwin, Tress L, et. al. Profile of Daily Life in Children With Brain Tumors:

An Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life. Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol 23, no 24, August, 2005. pp. 5493-5500.

Cure Search.org, a valuable resource for the childhood cancer journey. http://www.childhoodbraintumor.org/CureSearch.pdf

Deatrick, Janet a; Thibodeaux, Annaka G. Family management style framework: a new tool with potential to assess families who have children with Brain Tumor, Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing, Jan-Feb 2006, vol. 23, no.1, pp: 19-27.

Fiduccia, Daniel. The Importance of Special Education. http://www.childhoodbraintumor.org/specialed.html

Hay William W.

Current Pediatric Diagnosis & Treatment.

McGraw-Hill Professional. 2002.

McCabe, Mary Ann. Behavior problems in children who have undergone treatment for brain tumors. http://www.childhoodbraintumor.org/BehaviorProblems02rev.htm

Miller, Neil R; Walsh, Frank Burton; Hoyt, William Fletcher.

Walsh and Hoyt's Clinical Neuro- ophthalmology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2005.

Molfese, Dennis L; Molfese, Victoria J. Developmental Variations in Learning: Applications to Social, Executive... Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 2002.

N.A. Brain tumors in children. http://www.brain-surgery.com/chtum2.html

N.A. Report of the brain tumor progress review. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 9 February, 2005. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/find_people/groups/brain_tumor_prg/btprgreport.htm

Venning, Anthony J; Eliott, Jaklin; Whitford, Hayley; Honnor,

Jill. The impact of a child's chronic illness on hopeful thinking in children and parents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, vol. 26, no. 6, pp: 708-727. http://library.clarksoncollege.edu:2066/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=102&sid=39e1d960-e9d4-481c-acd4-ccd30e0df61e%40sessionmgr106