Midway through yesterday’s State of the Union Address, President Trump called attention to 10-year-old Grace Eline, a brain cancer survivor, seated next to First Lady Melania Trump. A native of Long Hill, New Jersey, Grace was first diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in May of 2018. After undergoing treatment, doctors declared her cancer-free in October. She celebrated her 10th birthday on December 16, 2018 by raising over $40,000 for the families of other children battling cancer. Speaking directly to Eline, Trump said, “You are a great inspiration to everyone in this room.” The President went on to declare that an additional $500 million dollars would be dedicated to research in pediatric cancer for the next ten years.
‘Long Effects’ of Pediatric Cancer Treatment
Read MoreThis does not even begin to underscore the long term emotional impact cancer treatment can have on a child as they grow older. Cancer.net cites depression about their previous disease, fear of recurrence, and avoidance of health care settings as just a few long term emotional problems that can result from pediatric cancer. One study estimates that 15% of adult survivors of pediatric cancer treatment experience some form of emotional distress related to their initial diagnosis.
New Research and Recommendations into Long Effects
In order to properly manage these long term effects following childhood treatment, the ACS recommends that pediatric patients and their families keep a record of their disease treatment, a list of any therapies or drugs used, as well as any scans or imaging conducting.
To increase awareness of late effects and improve follow-up care of childhood cancer survivors throughout their lives, the Children's Oncology Group (COG) has developed long-term follow-up guidelines for survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers. These guidelines can help you know what to look out for and what regular screenings should be conducted to manage you or your child’s health as time goes on. To learn more, ask your doctors about the COG survivor guidelines or find them here.
We’ve Come A Long Way
Amid all these concerns about the long term affects Eline may face, one important statistic should not be forgotten. Forty years ago Eline and other childhood cancer patients had only a 10% chance of survival. Eline’s journey underscores the remarkable progress that has been made in pediatric cancer treatment. Today, those chances are over 90%. President Trump’s promise to increase funding for pediatric cancer treatment, coupled with former President Obama’s Cancer Moonshot initiative should be met with optimism. Like Grace Eline’s smile when she was introduced to the audience and the nation last night, the future for pediatric cancer research is bright.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.