Depression is a psychiatric disorder that occurs in children with cancer

“Psychiatric disorders in children can take different forms, most commonly depression, but there are also things related to neurodevelopment, ADHD and autism,” said Kusuma in the RSCM webinar present in in Jakarta, Friday.

Kusuma said that it is also not easy to detect depression in children undergoing cancer treatment. This is because there are changes in concentration, sleep patterns, changes in appetite and lower energy which are also caused by the medical condition itself.

A child’s depression can affect their quality of life and compliance with the treatment they need.

In addition to depression, a psychiatric disorder that can arise in children with cancer is anxiety that arises due to anxiety, especially anxiety in anticipation or feelings of anxiety before an event occurs.

“Anticipatory anxiety is a common phenomenon that can be treated with behavioral intervention, education, or medication, depending on the severity of the symptoms,” he said.

Kusuma continued with another mental condition, which is delirium, which is a gradual change in consciousness due to an underlying general medical condition. Symptoms usually include sleep disturbances and irritability.

This requires recognition and treatment, with various diagnostic tools and interventions that manage symptoms, as this is part of a medical condition in order to improve.

Psychiatric disorders can appear from the first diagnosis, children can feel stressed and anxious because they have to go to the hospital regularly and see a doctor. Anxiety can also occur as a result of changes in routines, such as children being excused from school frequently and changes in the behavior of siblings.

“So when a child needs intensive care, the mother forgets her sibling, the sibling has behavioral problems, this can cause distress to the child undergoing cancer treatment,” said Kusuma.

On the other hand, a course of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation also affects life skills and children who are still growing and developing need to catch up on their weak points of development which puts stress on children.

Therefore, a close relationship between parents and children is needed so that they can provide understanding and comfort according to their developmental age with good communication so that the child understands what is happening to him.

“It is not easy for children to express what they feel, we can use methods that are close to children’s daily life, for example playing, so for example we can show pictures to show what the pain is like,” said Kusuma.