How does one help a family whose child has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness? It is a deceptively simple question with complicated answers. This brief chapter is not meant to be a history of biopsychosocial pediatric oncology, and it does not cover every theme. The explosion of studies on children with cancer over these past decades (Pizzo & Poplack, 2001) renders a retrospective look formidable and subjective. The sole purpose of this retrospective examination into the earliest beginnings is to place into context some of the main themes that have appeared over the past years, so that they can serve as a foundation for our recommendations for future intervention and research in the field. That is our assigned task. Much of the review reflects personal respective experiences beginning in the late 1960s. The chapters that form this volume, written by many of the most experienced psychosocial researchers who have brought the field so far forward over these many years, are the state of the art, tell us where we have been most recently, and tell us in greater detail where we are at the moment. Where does our psychosocial history begin? What have we done these past many years to help the children and their families cope with the illness and its treatment? With due awareness of the subjectivity and inevitable unfairness of our venture, we undertake the task with due apologies for any omissions that may occur in this retrospective review. As we begin to look in some detail at the main themes formed over the past four decades, we place our review into the context of four preambles: a multidisciplinary and international effort; an alliance between physicians and parents; research and service; and a sharing of the research wealth with economically struggling countries. From the earliest years, the effort to care for the child with cancer has been multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, and international, involving a highly cooperative and collaborative effort of physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and allied health care professionals working together across national borders.
Who needs the concept of spirituality? Human beings seem to!