The Trish Green Back To School Program for the Child with Cancer

Each year, approximately, 12,100 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and stem cell transplantation. Even after the initial treatment, child patients may face many years of illness, treatment, stress and post-treatment adjustments. Returning to school can offer a feel of normalcy for families after treatment. In an effort to support families and ease the transition from active treatment to daily life for pediatric cancer patients, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society developed a program to increase communication among healthcare professionals, parents, patients and school officials (campus nurses, counselors, teachers, and administrators).
The objectives of the program are to educate attendees and enable them to:•

• Describe common childhood cancers and treatments
• Identify challenges cancer survivors face upon returning to school and throughout their time in school and college
• Understand laws that protect childhood cancer survivors’ rights
• Have strategies to help meet the students’ short- and long-term educational needs
• Acess resources that support schools and families, including those from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Teachers can learn what accommodations might be needed for their returning cancer student and can help classmates understand what the student is going through. Because of their daily contact with the student, teachers also play a key role if any health concerns should arise in the classroom.

Cancer survivorship is a lifelong journey, and school reentry is a major milestone in that journey.

For more on the Trish Green Back To School Program, click here.