Young cancer patients

Press, 29 December 1979, Page 13

Young cancer patients

Children With Cancer: A Handbook for Families and Helpers. By M. Parker and D. Mauger. Cassell (N.Z.), 1979. 114 pp. Bibliography and index. $8.95. (Reviewed by a medical practitioner) The subject of this book has many emotional, social and philosophical implications. New Zealanders are fortunate that the authors of this book have what I call, for want of other words, “soul.” The book is aimed at parents and others who have the misfortune to undergo the imposed care of children with cancer. God imposes, and man, whether he likes it or not, has to dispose. The book is designed to help people to care for children with cancer in the most humane way possible. It does not supply all the answers because, fortunately, the human race carries with it many and varying qualities. The chapters cover the initial days of firm diagnosis of the disease: the treatments available with some mention of the unorthodox treatments that are also available; the types of hospitals whose staff diagnose and treat malignancies; how the child may be managed; how the father and mother should manage; the social

services that are available to help; what to do if the treatment fails and the child patient dies: and the bright future of cancer investigation and therapy. Where there is life there is always hope, and quite rightly so. The bibliography, the list of medical definitions, and the suggestions for further reading are all excellent. In all. this is a splendid book for those with the inclination to seek it out and the ability to read and understand However. I would urge strongly that further health education material of this sort should be produced on slides films and sound tapes, in order to helo less fortunate who cannot read or write, and also for those who do not speak English. A proportion of parents who have children with cancer need such forms of education. The book should be read by al! medical practitioners, nurses, medical students and lay people concerned with the care of cancer patients. A lot of advice given applies not only to children with cancer, but could well be applied to their elders. Shakespeare said that there were seven ages of man. In a way we are all children when it comes to suffering serious disease. A helping hand is o.Yered by this book; it is well worth every cent.