Tough Courage: Oncology Nursing Forum Addresses Childhood Cancer Then and Now

摘要

Childhood cancer is not very common in the United States, making up fewer than 1 % of all annual cancer diagnoses. In 2012, approximately 12,060 children younger than 14 years were diagnosed with cancer (Siegel, Naishadham, & Jemal, 2012). For the children and their families, however, the incidence of disease is not their primary concern. Far more important is the fear of what the future holds as well as how they will navigate the journey that has been unwillingly forced on them.Sadly, the rates of cancer occurrence in children have been rising ever so slightly since the 1970s. However, because of major treatment advances during the same time period, 83% of children with cancer will experience a survival rate of five years or more. This is significant as the five-year survival rate for childhood cancer in the 1970s was 58% (Siegelet al., 2012).