Symptom Monitoring and Dependent Care During Cancer Treatment in Children

    May 2006 in “ Cancer Nursing ”
    Phoebe D. Williams, Jami Schmideskamp, E. Lavonne Ridder, Arthur R. Williams
    TLDR Systematic symptom assessment helps prioritize care for children undergoing cancer treatment.
    The study examined symptom monitoring and care strategies used by parents/caregivers of 11 children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, with a mean age of 10.4 years. The Therapy-Related Symptom Checklist (TRSC) was used to assess symptoms, and the Karnofsky scale rated functional status, showing an inverse relationship between symptom severity and functional status. Common symptoms included nausea, fatigue, and hair loss. Care strategies included distraction, massage, and vitamins, with diet/nutrition and mind/body control being the most utilized complementary medicine categories. Systematic assessment with a self-report checklist helped providers identify and prioritize symptoms needing intervention.
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