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Pediatric Psychology
February 21, 2008 |
Coping with childhood cancer can be the biggest challenge a family ever faces.
Jennifer Hoover has a young son with Leukemia. She says, “It’s tough because
you’re dropping everything at home and you’re trying to get in the mind frame of
here.” Dr. Kim Shimoda is a Psychologist who works with oncology patients and
their families at the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. “When a child
receives a diagnosis of cancer that really means a lifestyle change for the
whole family,” she says. But at the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida,
those families have a team of professionals lined up to help them deal with the
diagnosis. “Our physicians believed that you needed a team to treat children
with life threatening and chronic illnesses. It’s not just about giving
medication, giving chemotherapy; it is really taking a look at the whole family
and the child within that environment,” says Dr. Shimoda. Every child oncology
patient and their family have access to social workers, child life specialists
and psychologists to help them cope and prepare for what’s to come. “The more we
can help parents adjust to the diagnosis and cope with the diagnosis, teach them
and educate them about what they need to know about their child’s diagnosis and
treatment plan then we’re giving them the tools that they need,” says Dr.
Shimoda. Psychology services are offered to every oncology patient at Children’s
Hospital thanks to financial support from Barbara’s Friends. To learn more about
donating to that program you can log onto www.leememorial.org. Psychologists
also work directly with child cancer patients on things like relaxation and pain
management techniques to help them get through chemotherapy and radiation. |
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