Facing the future
Even after they have made it through treatment, young cancer survivors have other challenges ahead. All must live with the knowledge that their disease could return.
Holcombe Grier, M.D., clinical director of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber.
Support along the way comes from the David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic at Dana-Farber, which helps survivors of pediatric cancers deal with the long-term effects of treatment, the risk of second cancers, and the social and psychological issues that can occur as patients grow older.
One of the biggest hurdles is dealing with well-meaning parents who have become understandably over-protective. "Kids come out of the experience wanting to take more risks and be more bold. Parents come out of the experience wanting to be more cautious," explains Christopher Recklitis, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in the Perini Clinic. "I tell families they are in a time of negotiation. Parents have to let kids fall down, make mistakes, and live with the consequences. But they shouldn't let the kids fall too hard."
These kids, however, have no intention of falling down. McCarthy-Donovan has applied to the New England Conservatory of Music to follow his dream of becoming a professional singer. Reynolds, who got married last fall, looks forward to being well enough to take a honeymoon. Smith is itching to get back behind the plate for Beverly High, and Karp to regain her spot on the town color guard. Glavin is majoring in computer science at B.U., and living at home so he can be close to his doctors if he needs them. "There isn't a day I don't think about what I've gone through," he says.
"I tell them flat out from the first day, cancer always stinks, but at your age it really stinks."
— Holcombe Grier, M.D.
And, after deferring for a year, Trafton plans to enroll at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., this fall. "I'm both nervous and excited about going into the real world," she admits. "But I'm ready. It's been a long time coming."
