Calidad de vida y estado de salud en niños y en adolescentes supervivientes de cáncer

Abstract

During the three past decades, although childhood cancer continues considering a threat to life, substantial changes have taken place in the treatment rates. Important advances in treatments have generated signifi cant increases in long-term rates of survival. This rise in life expectancy, mainly associated to the greater aggressiveness of therapeutic procedures, has been accompanied by a great number of physical, psychological and social consequences that have a negative impact in the quality of life of surviving young people. Thus, in last decades one of the main preoccupations of the professionals, who take care of children with cancer, it’s to extend the knowledge about the consequences that they will experiment in the next 20 to 40 years. The present work shows the protocol of evaluation and psycho-social intervention that the Spanish Association Against Cancer develops with children and survivors of childhood cancer. The guideline contemplates the development of two phases of action. In first of them, an investigation project it will be realised, that will enable obtain an exhaustive analysis of both survivors and its parents needs, in short and long term. And one second phase of intervention in which a program of psychological attention will be developed.