Schooling of young people with cancer

The schooling of young people with cancer poses various problems, similar to those experienced by disabled or chronically ill children. Published data on this subject in the medical literature comes mainly from studies carried out in the USA and the UK. Cancer and its treatment can cause both direct (learning difficulties or other disabilities...) and indirect (discrimination...) problems. Academic failure, and other problems linked to school absenteeism, can affect the future of adolescents with cancer. Sustaining schooling during the illness enables such patients to avoid falling behind academically, and to maintain his or her social status as a student. Due to the organisation of treatment regimes, education is provided in three environments : in hospital (during in-patient stays), at home (generally whilst the patient is convalescing), or at school. Paediatric oncologists have underlined the importance of establishing links between hospital and educational personnel (with parental approval), and suggest that a teachers'illness information manual should be produced. School re-entry is recommended as soon as possible. During the illness, the patient's presence in class is dependent on his or her general health, the progress of the cancer, and the treatment regime being followed. School absenteeism, inevitable during treatment periods and the year following diagnosis, is often associated with academic problems or failure. While many cancer patients worry about their school work and future educational progress, such problems remain rare. In the long term, the educational level of childhood or adolescent cancer survivors remains similar to that of the general population. In order to understand the issues surrounding the schooling of young cancer patients in France, long-term multi-centre studies, focusing on adolescents, must be initiated.