143: The One Thing: The Lasting Effects of Childhood Cancer with Kristin Szymanek MA, CCC-SLP
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children yet only 4% of government funding in the United States is allotted for childhood cancer research. Despite this, diagnosis, treatment, and management of many childhood cancers have improved drastically over the years. Survivorship has unique implications for speech-language pathologists.
Key Takeaway:
Childhood cancer patients are surviving longer that ever before but continue to experience chronic illness and life-altering deficits from their cancer and it’s treatment, so we have to shift our focus from just helping these patients survive to helping patients thrive after cancer.
Resources
Websites
Articles
Dixon, S. B., Chow, E. J., Hjorth, L., Hudson, M. M., Kremer, L. C., Morton, L. M., ... & Armstrong, G. T. (2020). The future of childhood cancer survivorship: challenges and opportunities for continued progress. Pediatric Clinics, 67(6), 1237-1251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2020.07.013
Fischmeister, G., Riedl, D., Sanio, G., Bogendorfer, T., Holzner, B., Rumpold, G., ... & Sperl, W. (2021). Rehabilitation for children and adolescents after cancer: importance and implementation in Austria. memo-Magazine of European Medical Oncology, 14(3), 278-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-021-00729-x
Hamilton, S. N., Mahdavi, S., Martinez, I. S., Afghari, N., Howard, F., Tran, E., & Goddard, K. (2021). A cross-sectional assessment of long-term effects in adolescent and young adult head and neck cancer survivors treated with radiotherapy. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-021-01103-w
Henderson, T. O., Ness, K. K., & Cohen, H. J. (2014). Accelerated aging among cancer survivors: from pediatrics to geriatrics. American Society of Clinical Oncology Educational Book, 34(1), e423-e430.
Tanner, L., Keppner, K., Lesmeister, D., Lyons, K., Rock, K., & Sparrow, J. (2020). Cancer Rehabilitation in the Pediatric and Adolescent/Young Adult Population. Seminars in oncology nursing, 36(1), 150984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2019.150984
Follow Kristin: @ped.onc.SLP on Instagram
Thanks for these great resources, Kristin!
Kristin Szymanek has 10 years of clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist, with over 8 years devoted to the pediatric oncology/hematology population. She serves as the Director of Rehabilitation at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she provides acute, inpatient, and outpatient services to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Her research interests include rehabilitation for patients with posterior fossa syndrome and the comprehensive management of feeding and swallowing disorders in childhood cancer patients and survivors.
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