Symptom Monitoring and Dependent Care During Cancer Treatment in Children

Abstract

Symptom monitoring by parents/caregivers of children with cancer and what the caregiver and child did to help alleviate symptoms during chemotherapy were studied. The Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist (TRSC) child version was administered to parents/caregivers of 11 children and adolescents (mean age, 10.4 years; SD, 6.1 years; range, 2-18 years; 45% were boys). The Karnofsky scale was completed by clinicians to rate the child's functional status. The TRSC child version and functional status scores were inversely related. All children experienced nausea; the most frequent symptoms reported were in TRSC subscales: fatigue, nausea, eating, fever, oropharynx, pain, and hair loss. Care strategies that helped were distraction, massage, mouth rinses, and vitamins; some reported that their child received medications for pain, nausea, and vomiting. Using complementary medicine categories, the care strategies were diet/nutrition/lifestyle change (eg, more high-fat, high-calorie foods; new foods; any food the child likes; and much sleep and rest); mind/body control (eg, play, video games, television, reading, activity puzzle, breathing exercises, relaxation methods, and prayer); manual healing method (massage and skin-to-skin contact); and biologic treatments (vitamins). The first 2 categories were the most used. Systematic assessment with a self-report checklist enables the provider to identify and prioritize (according to reported severity) those symptoms needing intervention.

Symptom assessment in children receiving cancer therapy: the parents’ perspective

“…Hedstrom et al conducted open-ended interviews with 50 children with cancer and 65 parents of children with cancer regarding distressing events related to their/their child's disease or its treatment [10]. An adult cancer-treatment symptom assessment tool was modified to include "kid-friendly" terms by Williams et al [20]. Parents of 11 children used it to rate the severity of 23 physical symptoms seen in their child.…”

Reduction in Nausea and Vomiting in Children Undergoing Cancer Chemotherapy by Either Appropriate or Sham Auricular Acupuncture Points with Standard Care

“…ven with recent advances in the understanding of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and the use of chemotherapy-specific antiemetic drugs, 1-4 over 40% [5][6][7] of children report that nausea and vomiting are two of the most distressing side-effects that they experience while receiving treatment with chemotherapy. [5][6][7] The high prevalence of these symptoms and level of distress reported by the children indicate poor control of CINV for children with cancer.…”

“…[5][6][7] The high prevalence of these symptoms and level of distress reported by the children indicate poor control of CINV for children with cancer. Acupuncture/acupressure has been shown to be effective for treating/preventing CINV as evidenced at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 8 and has been reconfirmed in other studies.…”

Parents' and Health-Care Providers' Perspectives on Side-Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment in Indonesia

“…Prescribing medications, such as anti-emetics for nausea, may minimize the occurrence of side-effects and increase treatment adherence and outcome. Parents therefore should be well guided how to prevent or control symptoms (Hedstrom et al, 2003;William et al, 2006;Poder et al, 2010). Previous studies in Indonesia illustrated that differences in status and social hierarchical structures between doctors and parents hindered communication, particularly toward poor families .…”

“…A few studies concerning hair loss in pediatric cancer populations were done. In certain studies being bald was considered a distressing symptom (William et al, 2006), but not in others (Collins et al, 2000 ;Hedstrom et al, 2003;Poder et al, 2010). In adult cancer populations hair loss has been identified as a severe sideeffect (Carelle et al, 2002).…”