Survivorship Matters Blog By CAC2 Member Mary Beth Collins “Your child has to be alive to experience side effects.” It’s a statement commonly heard by parents reviewing treatment protocol for a child newly diagnosed with a pediatric cancer. At that moment, one is only focused on desperately keeping a child alive and achieving No Evidence of Disease, or ”NED” as is commonly referenced. At that time, it’s almost impossible to consider quality of life factors when parents are terrified that without treatment they will lose their child. According to the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2) Fact Library, more than 95% […]
Read moreThere is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Read moreWhat is survivorship? For anyone touched by childhood cancer, the word is intimate, emotional, and somewhat complicated. Whether you are a child in treatment or beyond, parent, friend, practitioner, or researcher, the word is familiar, personal, and identifying. For each person, the word represents something unique. Is it just a label? Is it elusive? Is it a dream never realized? Is it a charge? Is it determinant? A proclamation? A destination? A victory? A curse? An honor? Survivorship in its entirety embodies all of this. All versions are worth exploring, if we are going to really embrace what survivorship means […]
Read more