Key points about how late effects can affect your student's learning
- some cancer treatments can cause health problems that may not happen until many years after treatment has finished
- these health problems are often called 'late effects'
- parents need to be aware that cancer treatment may have long-term effects on their child's learning
- some children will recover all function completely, but others may have difficulties
- teachers need to be aware that cancer treatment can have late effects on your student's learning
Effects of cancer treatment
The kind of side effects your student has will depend on the type of cancer they have and the treatment they receive. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy damage normal cells as well as cancerous ones. In many cases, side effects are temporary, but for some children, there can be long-term physical effects or 'late effects'.
Effects of cranial irradiation
Cranial irradiation is a type of radiation therapy for brain tumours and some high-risk forms of leukaemia. It carries an increased risk of learning problems for children. Some children have shown significant declines in cognitive ability.
Specific issues can include problems with:
- visual-motor skills
- memory
- attention span
- motor skills
Nonverbal skills such as abstract reasoning, visual-spatial skills and mathematics are especially vulnerable to cranial irradiation and intrathecal chemotherapy.
Read about the Late Effects Assessment Programme (LEAP)
Common learning difficulties after cranial irradiation
Common difficulties after cranial irradiation include problems with:
- reading
- spelling
- handwriting (unable to write accurately or quickly)
- mathematics with concepts requiring short-term memory such as times tables
- attention span or concentration - children may become hyperactive or inattentive
- short-term memory-storage of new information and retention of material
Children who have had cranial irradiation treatment may benefit from neuropsychological evaluation. Often the learning difficulties can increase over time. Good assessment and appropriate intervention can help minimise any effect on your student's ability to learn.
Physical effects of cancer treatment
Cancer treatments can cause a number of physical health problems including:
- delayed growth and early or late puberty
- hearing damage
- infertility
- heart damage
- lung problems
- dental problems
- kidney problems
- eye problems
It is important that you let your student's parents know if you notice anything out of the ordinary that is ongoing.
Find out more about treatments for childhood cancer.
Psychological effects of cancer treatment
Survivors of childhood cancer may have a slightly increased risk of developing another cancer later in life. Learning to live with the worry of cancer returning (or developing another cancer) is another burden for these children and their families/whānau.
Research has shown that survivors of childhood cancer are at substantially greater psychological risk than survivors of other chronic but non-life-threatening illnesses.1
Siblings of children with cancer are also at increased risk of psychological problems.
Acknowledgements
The pages in the childhood cancer and education section of this website have been developed in collaboration with the National Child Cancer Network (NZ), and the Ministry of Education. Content has been approved by the National Child Cancer Network (NZ).
References
1Cancer Care for the whole patient: Meeting psychosocial health needs - Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Psychosocial Services to Cancer Patients/Families in a Community Setting; Adler NE, Page AEK, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2008.
