Connected Caregivers And Exploring Social Media Use Among Parents of Childhood Cancer

Today, over 420,000 childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are alive in the United States, and

one in 750 individuals in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer [1]. Despite these

successes, the lifetime disease burden remains inordinately high for CCS [2-4]. Compared to

their healthy siblings, it is estimated that CCS have a 15-fold increase in risk for primary and

secondary cancers, a 15-fold increase in risk for congestive heart failure, an 11-fold increase in

risk for coronary artery disease, a 10-fold increase in risk for stroke, and a 9-fold increase in risk

for kidney failure [2]. Compared to the general population, it is estimated that CCS have a 3.5-

fold increase in risk for metabolic syndrome [5], 2.4-fold increase in risk for obesity, and up to

13-fold increase in risk for diabetes mellitus [6]. Other significant risks remain for chronic

fatigue [7], osteopenia/osteoporosis [8], and early aging [9, 10]. In a recent study of adult

survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 64% of survivors were found to be insulin resistant

[4], a significant determinant of many serious chronic illnesses for which CCS are at risk [5, 11].

Recently, it has been estimated that by age 45 the predicted cumulative prevalence among CCS is

95.5% for any chronic health condition, and 80.5% for a life-threatening health condition [12].

The health problems facing CCS are lifelong, increase with age, and can result in early mortality