Cancer Treatment (Research Proposal Sample)

Cancer Treatment
Student's Name
Professor's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Date
Cancer Treatment
Introduction
Cancer is one word that evokes many different emotions and images. Nothing in the world can prepare a person for the devastation that one finds that their children have cancer. Over the past 25 years, the cases of cancer or persons who have cancer have drastically increased, with children's cancer being one of the most notorious types of cancers experienced. The drastic rate of children who have cancer has raised various concerns, with numerous people perfuming various studies on pediatric cancers and numerous funding organizations focusing on funding the treatment of pediatric cancer. When it comes to matters to do with cancer. The world's knowledge is more based on the various statistics regarding the word cancer (Mulhern & Palmer, 2003). For instance, various studies from the world health organization indicate that daily, forty-six children or at least two kids in a full classroom are diagnosed with cancer before attaining the age of fifteen. The statistics also indicate that cancer is the second cause of death in children after injuries or accidents. Pediatric cancer is associated with taking the lives of most children compared to cystic fibroids, diabetics, pediatric AIDS, and asthma (Cacace et al., 2017). Other studies indicate that every year, more than one thousand three hundred and eighty children died of cancer in the year 2020 alone. Despite the high numbers of deaths associated with pediatric cancer, the children cure rate is steadily, especially in the last five years. Similarly, the number of children who have been dying of cancer is overwhelming and unacceptable.
When one hears the term 'cancer' in the family or pediatric cancer, they shift their brain by comparing their previous life and the life that they are about to start. Pediatric cancer thought to parents is a whole different outlook, since the effect of the diseases may not only be taken by the patient but also strains the family in various ways. Other studies indicate that the effect of pediatric cancer may range from physical, emotional, financial, and developmental challenges to the children diagnosed by the disease. Compared to adult cancer, children's cancer is rare, though most fetal by being the second largest cause of deaths among children below 14 years. In the United States alone, 1200 children are diagnosed yearly with pediatric cancer, with one out of five children diagnosed with the disease dying yearly (Cacace et al., 2017). Some of the most common pediatric cancer include Lymphoma, Leukemia, cancer of the nerves, Sarcomas, among other cancers. Out of all the notorious cancers, the two most common children's cancer includes brain tumor and Leukemia. Various studies have been done on pediatric cancer. Still, not much has been done on how pediatric cancer treatment in the age group of two to five years old affect cognitive and behavioral development.
Thesis statement
How the pediatric treatment in the age group of two to five years old affects the cognitive and the behavioral development in the children.
Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis: The pediatric treatment in the age group of two to five years old affects the cognitive and behavioral development in children negatively.
Alternative Hypothesis: There are no adverse effects of pediatric treatment in the age group of two to five years old on both the cognitive and behavioral development in children.
Research Question
Are their cognitive and behavioral development issues associated with pediatric cancer treatment in the age group of two to five years old?
Various studies suggest that future studies should cover the gap left in the pediatric study, which concerns the possibility of pediatric cancer treatment association with both behavioral development and cognitive issues. Thus, this work is based on an analysis of the various effects on the cognitive and behavioral development of children between the ages of two years and five years due to pediatric cancer treatment.
Literature Review
Types of Pediatric Cancers
Compared to adult cancer, children's cancer is ordinarily rare, having fewer than 13,500 cases annually, with approximately 1500 deaths annually. Pediatric cancer affects children from birth to the age of 14 years. Pediatric cancer is the most vital cause of death in children after the deaths associated with children's injury, among other causes of death. Some of the common childhood cancers include various types of cancer, and most also occur in adults. Leukemia is the most common type of cancer that causes death in children, with 33% of childhood cancers. The second most notorious cancer in children is the brain tumors that represent 25% of cancers affecting children, and Lymphoma cancer takes about 8% of the total children cancer cases. The minor cancer cases include bone cancers that represent 4% of the total number of cancers. Various studies also suggest that various types of cancers are exclusive in children. These include Neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, and Retinoblastoma. The World Health Organization approximates that 350,000 adults survived childhood cancer in the United States (Cacace et al., 2017). The various studies also suggest that children who survived cancer have numerous years compared to adults in developing various long-term consequences of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Some of the effects that the pediatric cancer survivors may develop comprise poor growth, infertility, psychosocial effects, cardiac damage, and high chances of developing the second cancer chances.
Treatment of Pediatric Cancer
The treatment of childhood cancer always depends on the cancer stage. However, the common types of treatments for cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, and radiation therapy. The latest type of treatment for pediatric cancer is immunotherapy, which includes an individual's immune system attacking the cancerous cells, and may be very effective in treating childhood cancer. Some of the common immunotherapy cancer treatments involve oncolytic virus therapy, monoclonal antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, cancer vaccine, and the use of bispecific T-cell engagers.
The impact of being diagnosed with cancer and the various treatment intensity is more overwhelming to both the child suffering from the diseases and the family. The various painful procedures, the outpatients' visit, and the increased hospitalization make a child find it difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy. The sick children's caretakers and parents also undergo overwhelming stress as the parents struggle to balance work and take care of the sick children. Attending the various needs for the children who have cancer may be overwhelming to the parents, especially if the children are treated far away from the home premise.
Causes of pediatric Cancer
Cancer diseases occur in people of all ages and, in most cases, affect any part of the body. The effects begin with various genetic changes in the single human cells and expand into mass or tumors, leading to the invading of other parts of the body and leads to death of the individuals if left untreated. However, unlike cancer in adults, the majority of the cancer cases in children are unknown. Various studies have been focused on identifying the causes of cancer, with only a few studies outline that the cancer causes in children are associated with lifestyle factors and environmental exposures (Santacroce et al., 2020). The various cancer prevention strategies should focus on the strategies that may prevent such children from developing cancer once they grow older. This is because various studies indicate that a person having suffered cancer at an early age has a high chance of developing preventable cancer in the future. Some of the risk factors for childhood cancer include the Epstein-Barr virus, a risk factor for childhood cancer, and HIV. However, hepatitis B vaccination may help lower the chances of liver cancer, during the vaccination of papillomavirus vaccine help-s in preventing cervical cancer. Various studies indicate that 10% of children who have cancer have various predispositions caused by genetic cancers. However, various other studies should be conducted in understanding various factors that may impact cancer development in young children.
Effects of the Pediatric Cancer
Some of the effects of pediatric cancer from the past studies include high chances of contracting second cancer, ranging from breast, skin, and thyroid cancer. The treatment plans that include radiation therapy have various chemotherapy that may make a person get second cancer. Pediatric cancer may lead to future problems in sexual and reproductive development. Some of the treatments associated with infertility comprise radiation therapy, which affects the lower abdomen, or testiest, and chemotherapy. Other studies also indicate that pediatric cancer treatments may interfere with the child’s hormone problem, growth, and developmental issues. The cancer treatment may end up affecting the glands producing hormones. These glands control various body functions, including metabolism, growth, and puberty that may end up being affected. There are various suggestions that pediatric cancer may impact children's memory and learning problems. Some of the issues that may contribute to memory issues include high doses of specific drugs and radiation therapy. Other effects of pediatric cancer treatment include heart problems, dental problems, digestive system problems, lung and breathing problems. Additionally,...