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Psychological Aspects of Childhood Cancer

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Advances in Clinical Child Psychology

Part of the book series: Advances in Clinical Child Psychology ((ACCP,volume 14))

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Abstract

Eiser (1990) has recently commented that, relative to the number of children affected by different chronic diseases, the psychological adjustment of pediatric cancer patients has received a disproportionate amount of attention by researchers. There are fewer than 10,000 children newly diagnosed with cancer per year, yet there has been a steadily increasing number of psychological studies of these children and their families. Increased interest in pediatric cancer is due, at least in part, to recognition that the medical treatment for cancer is typically more prolonged and aversive than treatment for most other childhood illness. Further, both the disease and its treatment may have potentially damaging and permanent effects on the child’s cosmetic, personal-social and neuropsychological functioning. Consequently, perhaps more than most other chronic or potentially life-threatening diseases, the diagnosis of and treatment for cancer places extraordinary demands on the psychological well-being of the child and family (Eiser, 1990). Lastly, rapid and dramatic improvements in the prognosis of children with cancer have resulted in a marked increase in the number of children who survive the disease. Thus interest in childhood cancer is fueled by concerns about the quality of life of long-term survivors (Mulhern et al., 1989).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, 13902, USA

    Alice G. Friedman

  2. Division of Psychology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale Street, Memphis, Tennessee, 38101, USA

    Raymond K. Mulhern

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  1. Alice G. Friedman
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  2. Raymond K. Mulhern
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA

    Benjamin B. Lahey

  2. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Alan E. Kazdin

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© 1992 Plenum Press, New York

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Friedman, A.G., Mulhern, R.K. (1992). Psychological Aspects of Childhood Cancer. In: Lahey, B.B., Kazdin, A.E. (eds) Advances in Clinical Child Psychology. Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, vol 14. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9838-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9838-7_5

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