Lifestyle behaviours of young adult survivors of childhood cancer.

This cross-sectional study collected baseline data on the health behaviours of a large population of survivors of childhood cancer in the UK, aged 18-30 years, compared with those of sex- and age-matched controls. Data from 178 young adult survivors of childhood cancer, diagnosed and treated at Bristol Children's Hospital, 184 peers from the survivors' GP practices and 67 siblings were collected by postal questionnaire. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that, for matched sets of survivors and controls, survivors of a variety of childhood cancers reported lower levels of alcohol consumption (P=0.

Children's return to school after treatment for cancer: study days for teachers.

Background: As greater numbers of children return to school after treatment for cancer, their teachers need information and assurance in order to facilitate the reintegration process.

Methods: Help with organising study days for teachers was offered to the 20 regional childhood cancer treatment hospitals in the United Kingdom, and the usefulness of the study days in helping teachers at six of these centres was evaluated using pre- and posttest questionnaires. At a study day, members of the hospital treatment team gave informal presentations, and, later, involvement in a workshop gave the participants opportunities to discuss and share information.

Psychosocial adjustment of five-year survivors of childhood cancer.

This study assessed the psychosocial adjustment of 31 childhood cancer patients five years after diagnosis compared with their school peers. The children were aged 8 to 18 years at the time of the study. No significant difference was found in self-rated measures of anxiety and self-esteem.

Absence from school related to cancer and other chronic conditions.

Absence from school during the first year after starting major treatment for cancer or chronic or orthopaedic conditions was examined. Retrospective data were collected on 72 children and obtained from hospital records, school registers, and interviews with parents and teachers. Median initial absences caused by treatment were 91, 29-5, and 15 days for cancer, chronic, and orthopaedic patients respectively.