Mary-Elizabeth Bradley Eilertsen Sept’ 78by: Mary-Elizabeth Bradley Eilertsen Sept’ 78
Congratulations to Mary-Elizabeth who recently completed a doctoral thesis at NTNU – Trondheim, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2111.The following are excerpts from this thesis that will be of special interest to our readers.
Background: Childhood cancer involves a crisis for the child and their family where they face many challenges to achieve normality after diagnosis, even after successful treatment. In 1985, a professional collaboration model (PCM) was developed at the Department of Pediatrics, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim where the goal was to offer optimal follow-up care to children with cancer and their families.
In Norway, approximately 120-150 children and adolescents under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer each year (annual incidence 16.2/100,000) and approximately 40 children die yearly of their cancer illness (Cancer Registry 2009). The most common type of malignancy in children is leukaemia, accounting for approximately 1/3 of childhood cancers. The second most frequent malignancy in children is tumours of the central nervous system.
