Diagnosis

Your child has been diagnosed with cancer. Your treatment team know that this is painful news for you, but with great patience and care, they will do their utmost to help your child return to health. This is a time of great upheaval for your family, and you probably have many questions and concerns, as well as fear of facing the future with its uncertainties and demands. Many parents feel overwhelmed by the information they are given at the time of diagnosis, and worry that they won't be able to remember all the things they've been told about caring for their child. This reference has been written  to help you learn about your child's condition. We hope that by using this text as a guide, your family can begin to feel comfortable about dealing with your child's cancer and the changes the illness and treatment will bring to your lives.

You will meet many people who, together, make up your child's treatment team. your treatment team want you to feel as informed as possible about your child's care, because your participation, as parents on this team, is vital to the team's efforts to care for your child. Feel free to ask questions --- repeatedly, if necessary.

Once your child's exact diagnosis has been made, the treatment team will determine the best way to treat your child, given the current information available about your child's form of cancer. For most forms of childhood cancer researchers are continuing to look for ways to improve the outcome of standard treatment. You may be asked to give your consent for your child to participate in a treatment protocol. The goal of the treatment team is to achieve remission and, if possible, to cure your child's cancer.