One of the most devastating experiences a parent can encounter is to hear that one's child has cancer. The cancer diagnosis is still often associated with death, although great progress has been made in the treatment of children with cancer over the last 30 years. The use of multi-modality therapy (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a combination of these treatment modalities) has led to better chances for survival. Today, long-term survival and cure can been reached for 60-70% of the children. This means that parents live with the hope for cure and an uncertain outcome for long periods of time. At the same time, parents are confronted with
intensive and long-lasting treatment of their child that is coupled with distressing side-effects. Some of these side-effects are temporary (such as hair loss), others can be permanent (such as infertility or (neuro)psychological damage).
The purpose of the study, presented in this thesis, is to investigate the psychosocial consequences for parents of the cancer diagnosis and treatment of their child. The predictive contribution of a number of variables to the current psychological functioning and to the adaptation of parents with time will be investigated. Lastly, we have examined whether a structured psychological intervention would have a beneficial effect for parents in coping with the demands of their childs' cancer diagnosis and treatment.