School Attendance among Children with Cancer

Abstract

Although academic progress and acquisition of social skills are impeded by poor school attendance, the problem of absenteeism among children with cancer continues to be unrecognized by many medical caregivers and educators. In a study on absenteeism among pediatric patients, school attendance records were collected on 239 children treated for cancer at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Denver Children's Hospital. Whenever possible, records were obtained for five consecutive years: from one year before diagnosis until three years after diagnosis. Although patients from both centers had a high rate of absenteeism throughout the five-year period, they missed the most days during the year of diagnosis (mean, 43 days). However, even three years after diagnosis, the children missed significantly more school than did other children in the two states.