Decreasing Psychological Distress During the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Leukemia

Abstract

A literature review was performed to explore the experiences of parents during their child's diagnosis of leukemia. The findings revealed that anxiety is a major reaction to the diagnosis. Because of the parents' reactions, communication barriers and parental role changes are established between the parent and child. The lack of communication between the parent and child during diagnosis and treatment and parental role changes produce negative outcomes. Negative outcomes place the parent and child at risk for experiencing anxiety years after the illness is treated. This literature review describes positive outcomes that can be accomplished by decreasing the anxiety of parents, which leads to a decrease in communication barriers and parental role changes during the new diagnosis of leukemia. Interventions are provided to increase the support and resources of parents during this phase of the disease. Future research may focus on interventions to decrease anxiety, which will increase communication, produce positive outcomes for treatment, and decrease stress years after the disease is treated.

Chronic stress enhances progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia via β-adrenergic signaling

“…Previous reports have shown that children and adolescents with ALL manifest high rates of psychological distress as a result of both initial diagnosis and subsequent medical procedures to treat the disease (Kazak et al, 1995; Willingham-Piersol et al, 2008). Adolescent survivors of ALL often manifest higher levels of anxiety in the wake of the disease than their healthy peers (Shelby et al, 1998).…”

Parental Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms as Predictors of Psychosocial Problems in Children Treated for Cancer

“…Parental emotional difficulties, such as depression and anxiety, have been reported to decrease after cancer treatment [7,8]. However, many parents continue to experience chronic post-traumatic stress (PTS) for a long time after their child’s treatment [9].…”

“…However, even in cultures in which full disclosure is a common practice, parents often find it difficult to tell their child about the disease [20,21]. In western countries, the benefits of truthful disclosure have been examined [8,21,22,23], but there have been few such studies in Japan [24]. …”

Type D Personality Parents of Children With Leukemia Tend to Experience Anxiety

“… 7 Anxiety is very common in parents of children with leukemia. 8 The researchers reported that relieving parental anxiety could result in positive outcomes for the treatment of their child's leukemia and lessen stress years after treatment. 8 …”