Adolescence is a period of psychological fragility. This is especially true for young cancer victims. The fact of the care with children or adults may hinder their recovery. For this reason, special care units have emerged in some hospitals. Reportage from the pediatric oncology department of the Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Villejuif (Val de Marne).
Yellow Door Radio, large sofa, books and comics, video games, computer: Welcome to “squat”! Thus the young pediatric oncology department of the Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR) in Villejuif (Val de Marne), call their lounge. This piece, like the rest of the wing where it is located, is reserved.
“This is where those who wish can meet them and build relationships, both to break with their loneliness and to realize that they are not the only ones suffering from cancer,” Catherine explains Vergely, CEO of Isis Association, which supports parents and relatives of children treated at the IGR. Catherine Vergely is also president of the National Union of parents of children with cancer and leukemia.
A developing being
These young people “are not like other patients,” said Professor Marcel Rufo, Chief of Child Psychiatry of the University Hospital Sainte-Marguerite (Marseille). “The teenager is a teenager with cancer, a developing being, with his vulnerability, his questionings, his problem of self-image.” However, the announcement of cancer profoundly shaken his life project.
While the vast majority of young cancer victims do not question the need to be treated, “a young rebel weakened or may challenge the fact of being diagnosed with cancer and refused to comply fully with treatment. To summarize if the teenager goes to his head, he will invest in his recovery if he is ill, the cancer will endorse his depression.
A particular psychology
“The boy did not have the same issues of concern that his parents and doctors who believe in priority to its survival and its recovery,” argues Marie-Aude Sevaux, president of the Youth Solidarity Cancer Association (JSC ). “The teenager, thinks as his physical appearance, his ability to charm, or risk having to rewrite his life project, the impact of treatment on fertility … Having cancer when it was still to build, Not the same as when one is already installed in life. ”
This particular psychology is it a cause of any increase in survival of these patients compared to other age groups? “It seems that equal disease, there are differences,” said Dr. André Baruchel, pediatric hematologist at the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). “This is the case eg for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. If there is no difference between 10-15 years and 15-20 years there, compared to children under 10 years more negative forms, less adherence to treatment and worse outcomes. “
Tags: Cancer, children, leukemia, pediatric oncology, young cancer
