Bridging the Gap: Embedding Psychosocial Oncology Research into Comprehensive Cancer Care for Children and Young People

Ursula Margaret Sansom-Daly; Jordana Kathleen McLoone; Joanna Elizabeth Fardell; Holly Elaine Evans; Brittany Claire McGill; Eden Grace Robertson; Christina Signorelli; Sarah Ellis; Lauren Ha; Kate Hetherington; Rachel Elizabeth Houweling; Suzanne Mary Nevin; Clarissa Evelyn Schilstra; Richard Mitchell; Michelle Haber; Richard Jules Cohn; Claire Elizabeth Wakefield

doi:10.3390/cancers17132123

Bridging the Gap: Embedding Psychosocial Oncology Research into Comprehensive Cancer Care for Children and Young People

Cancers (Basel). 2025 Jun 24;17(13):2123. doi: 10.3390/cancers17132123.

Authors

Ursula Margaret Sansom-Daly^{1

2

3}, Jordana Kathleen McLoone^{1

2}, Joanna Elizabeth Fardell^{1

2

4}, Holly Elaine Evans^{1

2}, Brittany Claire McGill^{1

2}, Eden Grace Robertson^{1

2}, Christina Signorelli^{1

2}, Sarah Ellis^{1

2}, Lauren Ha^{1

2}, Kate Hetherington^{1

2}, Rachel Elizabeth Houweling^{1

2}, Suzanne Mary Nevin^{1

2}, Clarissa Evelyn Schilstra^{1

2}, Richard Mitchell², Michelle Haber⁵, Richard Jules Cohn^{1

2}, Claire Elizabeth Wakefield^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Behavioural Sciences Unit, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
² Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
³ Sydney Youth Cancer Service, Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
⁴ Western Sydney Youth Cancer Service, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia.
⁵ Children's Cancer Institute, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
⁶ Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University and Stanford Medicine Children's Health, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA.

Abstract

The National Cancer Institute designated models of comprehensive cancer care centres endeavour to enable the delivery of high-quality, holistic cancer care, informed by research evidence across the cancer care trajectory. These comprehensive cancer centers have typically been adult-oncology-focused, leaving an important gap and opportunity to consider what a model of comprehensive cancer care might look like for children and young people. With the advent of the opening of the first comprehensive children's cancer center in Australia and the southern hemisphere, this commentary considers the important role that psychosocial oncology needs to play in driving high-quality, person-centered comprehensive cancer care for all.

Keywords: family-centered care; integrated care; pediatric and adolescent cancer care; psychosocial support; quality of life.

Abstract

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