Young siblings of children with cancer deserve care and a personalized approach.
The youngest siblings may be both emotionally vulnerable and often neglected members of the family of a childhood cancer patient. The prompt identification of signs of distress in these subjects allows trained caregivers to intervene with personalized, age-appropriate, attention, and care. A narrative approach, based on personalized listening, writings, and spontaneous drawings, can provide the means to elicit markers of psychological maladjustment in even the youngest of siblings. Two exemplary cases are reported to illustrate this approach.
Massimo
Luisa M
LM
Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit, G. Gaslini Children's Research Hospital, Genova, Italy. luisamassimo@ospedale-gaslini.ge.it
Wiley
Thomas J
TJ
D001155:Art Therapy; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007578:Jealousy; D007938:Leukemia; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms; D009447:Neuroblastoma; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010989:Play Therapy; D012801:Sibling Relations; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy