Commentary: Supporting Mental Health Among Parents and Caregivers of Children Diagnosed With Pediatric Cancer.

Abstract

“Your child has cancer.” Each year, parents and caregivers of over 15,000 children in the USA will hear those words as cancer is the number one cause of death by disease in children across all ages, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic status (American Cancer Society, 2023; CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, 2022). Although the survival rate for pediatric cancer has largely increased, the number of annual diagnosed cases has not declined (American Cancer Society, 2022). A child’s new cancer diagnosis can profoundly affect caregivers by imposing tremendous stress which may affect their own mental health and adjustment. Caregiver depression and distress may influence their child’s cancer treatment by impacting caregiving behaviors and support, threaten overall family functioning, as well as affect the continuation of care and treatment follow-up (e.g., Bakula et al., 2019). As such, it is critical for pediatric psychologists to understand factors that can influence caregivers’ well-being in the context of pediatric oncology.