ROME – The onset of an oncohaematological pathology in childhood, precisely because of its traumatic nature, can heavily mark the construction and structuring of the growing individual’s personality. When a family receives a diagnosis of pediatric cancer, a therapeutic journey begins that involves different figures, more than you can imagine. From the diagnosis to the definition of the treatment path, to the follow-up, to the clinical recovery and/or to the end of life, the family finds itself in a very complex reality made up of doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, teachers and volunteers who represent a network support for changes in daily life.
The hospital often represents a real second home if the home cannot be the place of choice for treatment. It is necessary to take charge, in a global way, of all the psycho-physical, socio-emotional-relational needs that revolve around the child and his loved ones with such an important diagnosis. The network that cures becomes even more emergent if active pharmacological therapies for oncological disease fail and pain to be treated arises.
In this case, pediatric palliative care, by identifying the emerging needs of the child and the family, through shared care planning, tries to find the answers in order to ensure the best possible quality of life for the child and the reduction of harm to the his family. In light of this context, it is important to bring together different realities operating in the field of pediatric oncology, create a space for reflection and discussion between institutions and operators, and create a network for the correct management of care.
