Living beyond cure. Transcending survival.
The care and cure of cancer in children is decades ahead of the care and cure of cancer in adults. Cure is the norm. However, the cure of a disease and the consequence of that disease are complex concepts. Cure has at least three components: a biological cure, a psychological cure, and a social cure. Pediatric oncology has begun to address all three forms of cure, and both the biological and psychosocial cures are realistic goals. The challenge still before us is the acceptance of cancer as another normal childhood illness. Cancer patients need to transcend survival. Cancer must become just another event among other common events in a person's life. The future will come because we think it is already here and act accordingly, rather than because it is a concretely definable reality.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D012935:Social Justice; D012944:Social Support