Childhood cancer is the cancers that occur in children younger than 18 years. Although cancer is uncommon in children, it is has been classified the leading cause of death in children, despite the advances in the treatment of cancer. There are no known causes of childhood cancer, and it occurs across all ethnic groups; moreover, some children are even born with cancer. A diagnosis of childhood cancer is a shock for family and child; it produces major emotional distress, and affects children and family life balance. The known nature of cancer, being as life-threatening disease, as well as risks associated with treatment, makes decision making process stressful and difficult. According to Whitney et al., 2006, clinical decision making for children with serious illness such as cancer has a significant challenge for physicians, parents, and patients, and it is …show more content…
While, parents or guardians are authorized, to decide for treatment for minor patients, however, medical decisions must be based on the child’s best interest, such treatment effectiveness, possibilities of additional suffering from side effects, and overall prognosis. Furthermore, healthcare professionals and related ethical issues can affect also decision making in childhood cancer. Accordingly, this paper aims to discuss number of key themes related to decision making in pediatric oncology; physician’s role in decision making in childhood cancer; parents’ participation in treatment decisions and the factors that might affect their decisions; parent’s view of participation of child in clinical trials. Following this, I will look at particular aspects with ethical dilemmas: refuse of treatment, do not resuscitate (DNR) in children, and end-of-life care for children. Finally I will offer own thoughts and hypothesis about
The author recommends supporting this organization because she think it’s a great way to find and better scientific research. Furthermore, it helps kids in need and parents who don’t have money. For example, an eight year old girl named Ainsley who had a swollen lymph node was referred to St. Jude because it wouldn’t go down. Ainsley and her family soon found out she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma and went through 98 weeks of
According to the oncologist, Nurse L. was acting immorally and unprofessional when informing her patient Michael Q. of all his treatment options including chemotherapy, and alternative treatments such as natural therapies. I strongly disagree that the nurse was acting immoral because it was the patient’s medical and legal right to know all of his options, not just the ones that may be most successful, or ones that medical professional determines as the best options. That being said, I do not believe the patient’s physician should have the final decision about their treatment, unless the patient is unable to make a final decision for himself and has no family to assist him. Because the oncologist did not tell his patient about all the treatment options, Michael Q. was not was not fully informed and therefore his agreement to receive the chemotherapy treatment was not informed consent.
Approximately 100,000 children die of cancer before the age of 15 in the world every day. According to the Journal of American Medical Association, roughly 80% of children with cancer in high-income countries, such as the United States, survive. With that in mind, we must be thankful for the facilities we have close to home, such as Children’s Mercy Hospital.
The development and successful application of preventive therapy for meningeal leukemia, followed by the intensification of systemic chemotherapy, has progressively improved the rate of cure of childhood lymphoblastic leukemia (Rivera et al. [1289]). Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall survival rate for childhood cancer from 20% when the hospital opened in 1962 to more than 80% today (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital). Treatments for this type of cancer is very expensive and Danny wanted to help families focus more on their child than worrying about the costs of
Lylah Eason Eason 1 Mrs. Wright AP English III 26 April 2024 Pediatric Oncology Pediatric Oncology is a highly specialized field of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cancer in children and adolescents. Childhood cancers are rare, their diagnosis and treatment can take a mental and physical toll on these children and their families. Pediatric Oncology is a great career choice today because a pediatric oncologist could save a child's life and be a hero to a family in distress. A pediatric oncologist has many different duties to perform in their career.
Imagine, your child has been having a pain in his stomach for weeks. He has been screaming uncontrollably. You have taken him to the doctors multiple times, only to be told it is just a virus. You finally take him to the ER, determined to find an answer and end your child 's pain. When you get to the ER they decide to do an MRI on his stomach.
Abstract St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment center and research facility. They focus on cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases afflicting children around the world. St. Jude is a world leader in developing new and improved treatments for children with cancer. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a nonprofit organization located in Memphis, Tennessee. Danny Thomas, the founder, opened St. Jude’s doors on February 4th, 1962.
Colin Newmark was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer was life threatening. His parents were Christian Scientists and refused to consent for chemotherapy for Colin. Their refusal was protected under State Law as it exempted parents from the neglect and abuse statutes if the refusal was supported by medical reasons. The plaintiff, Child Protective Services petitioned to continue treatment for Colin.
The ethical principle of autonomy provides for respect for the patient’s autonomy to make decisions and choices concerning their life and death. Respecting the patient’s autonomy goes against the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence. There also exists the issue of religious beliefs the patient, family, or the caretaker holds, with which the caretaker has to grapple. The caretaker thus faces issues of fidelity to patient welfare by not abandoning the patient or their family, compassionate provision of pain relief methods, and the moral precept to neither hasten death nor prolong life.
Parents and family members with a child of any age would also benefit from the information delivered in this speech although older children may not receive such impactful results. Significance: This speech is relevant to my audience because the impact of such a significant diagnosis is a life changing and emotional event for families and the need for direction and guidance at such a critical time in their child’s life is essential. My audience should understand that providing their child with early intervention therapy will impact their child’s life indefinitely.
Atul Gawande in his article “Whose body is it, anyway?” introduced couple of cases, which discussed a controversial topic, doctors dealing with patients and making important medical decisions. These are difficult decisions in which people might have life or death choices. Who should make the important decisions, patients or doctors? Patients don’t usually know what is better for their health and while making their decisions, they might ignore or don’t know the possible side effects and consequences of these decisions.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease past infancy for U.S. children. However, thanks to better therapies, more than 80% of U.S. childhood cancer patients now become long-term survivors. Survival rates can vary depending on the type of cancer. About 420,000 childhood cancer survivors live in the U.S., with much more around the world (St. Jude Children 's Research Hospital) this shows that cancer is one major diagnosed disease found in children under the age of 15. Cancer patients will have long-lasting chronic conditions during treatment.
The family is forced to make decisions that are out of their knowledge due to lack of experience in the matter. The family is in an uneasy emotional state where they cannot think clearly or rationally. The family is also in an unusual financial state. There is a slight difference in this than what Mitford was explaining, because the family is not overwhelmed with new money, but worried about how they can afford to keep their relative alive on a ventilator or other machines prolonging life. This unique position that the family is in causes them to look towards the professionals, in this case doctors, in order to give them guidance and some sort of peace over their decision.
When I was five, my mom was diagnosed with leukemia also known as blood cancer. Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the bodies ability to fight infection. The doctor told my mom she would only live for five years. She had leukemia for too long and it was fatal for her to live. Although, it wasn't common for someone to die of leukemia, knowing they had so many treatments.
As the parents of the child, the parents would seek to act for what is best for the child. When a child does not want a vaccination or to go to the dentist, the child refuses. However, the parents still force the child to receive the vaccination and go to the dentist because there are beneficial effects that come from the small amount of pain they will experience. A parent’s consent for a bone marrow donation of a potential child stems from similar reasoning. Even though the child will experience pain, Anissa’s life will potentially be saved by the donation and a greater good will be achieved.