Teaching Students With Childhood Cancer: It’s More Than Just the Disease

Students with chronic illnesses, like cancer, can have long-term side effects that impact their success in school even when their illness is controlled or in remission. The purpose of the current manuscript is to describe the more common education-related impacts associated with childhood cancer. In this manuscript, we will (a) review problems arising from cancer and cancer treatment that may affect the education of students being treated for cancer, (b) describe issues related to executive function, emotional coping skills, and social skills, (c) highlight practices that can be used by special educators to help students succeed in these three area, and (d) discuss important considerations in developing individualized education programs (IEP) for students with cancer and those in remission.