The Emotional Impact of Surviving or Caring for Someone with Childhood Cancer

Each year, cancer affects thousands of children and their families. In fact, for every 10,000 children in the United States, approximately 1 to 2 will develop cancer. Fortunately, over the past two decades, advances in cancer treatments have led to many children surviving their battle with cancer; however, that may be only the first step. Having cancer can have long-lasting effects on the mental health of a child and his or her parents. In particular, survivors of childhood cancer and caregivers (especially mothers) of childhood cancer survivors are at greater risk to develop PTSD. You can read this article to learn more about the link between childhood cancer and PTSD, as well as resources that are available to help survivors and their caregivers better cope with the stress of a cancer diagnosis and its treatment.