Experiences of children with cancer when going back to school

a psychological care strategy

Abstract

This study proposes to listen to the children about their experience of returning to school during oncological treatment, after an informative work performed with their colleagues and teachers. Following ethical norms, eight children of this study, from five to eleven years old, were identified by the Pediatric and Puericulture Sector of the Clinical Hospital at the Medicine School of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo. Then, was proposed to them and their mothers through the accomplishment of an informative work about the childhood cancer presented by the cartoon “Why Charlie Brown, Why?”, in order to clearly inform about disease and treatment to the colleagues and teachers. About 30 days after the children’s return to classes, in one of their hospital returns, after the informative work, an interview was made with the children at hospital, from the following question: “I would like that you tell me how you feel about returning to school after the time you were absent for treatment”. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively according to the phenomenological psychology. This analysis revealed that before the informative work the lack of information about cancer established the “mystery” around the physical appearance of the sick children in the school, providing a hostile and aggressive climate for them. However, they kept their position to continue attending the school, making efforts to introduce a good academical and behavioral performance, besides creating options to “fake” colleagues’ rejection. According to the children, the informative work constituted an important support at the school reinsertion moment.