Abstract
Anthony 's parents had been planning a family trip to the coast for months. Anthony, a precocious 4-year-old with excellent language skills, had been to the beach once before and could not stop talking about the upcoming trip. On a cool Friday morning in autumn, Anthony 's mother was busy packing the family 's things for their 2-week vacation. She had decided to take the day off from work while Anthony was in day care so that she could take care of all the last-minute details. When the day-care staff called to report that Anthony did not seem right, she figured he might have come down with an illness that would make the plane ride less pleasant, but she certainly did not anticipate that the vacation would never happen.
When she arrived at the day care, she learned that Anthony had been having problems with balance all morning and had fallen several times. She also noticed that his eyes were moist and that his head was tilted to one side. “Tears are falling from my eyes, Mommy,” said Anthony with only a slight hint of distress in his voice but still looking to his mother to somehow make it stop. Anthony 's mother felt her heart jump and quickly scooped up Anthony and shuttled him to the emergency department.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Resources for Clinicians
Butler, R. W., & Mulhern, R. K. (2005). Neurocognitive interventions for children and adolescents surviving cancer. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30(1), 65–78.
Mulhern, R. K., Merchant, T. E., Gajjar, A., Reddick, W. E., & Kun, L. E. (2004). Late neurocognitive sequelae in survivors of brain tumours in childhood. The Lancet Oncology, 5(7), 399–408.
National Cancer Institute. (2006). Late effects of treatment for childhood cancer (PDQ1). Retrieved October 16, 2006 from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/lateef-fects/HealthProfessional/page2.
Schatz, J., Kramer, J. H., Ablin, A., & Matthay, K. K. (2000). Processing speed, working memory, and IQ: A developmental model of cognitive deficits following cranial radiation therapy. Neuropsychology, 14(2), 189–200.
Resources for Families
American Brain Tumor Association. Provides funding for brain tumor research and offers educational and support services for patients and families. Address: 2720 River Road Suite 146, Des Plaines, IL 60018-4110; phone: 1-800-886-2282; Web site and e-mail: http://www.abta.org;info@abta.org
American Cancer Society. Dedicated to eliminating cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. Phone: 1-800-ACS-2345; Web site: http://www.cancer.org
The Brain Tumor Society. Provides information, resources, and support for people affected by brain tumors. Address: 124 Watertown Street, Suite 3H, Watertown, MA 02472; phone: 1-800-770-TBTS; Web site: http://www.tbts.org
The Children 's Brain Tumor Foundation. Committed to improving treatments, quality of life, and long-term outcomes for children with brain and spinal cord tumors through research, support, education, and advocacy. Address: 274 Madison Avenue, Suite 1004, New York, NY 10016; phone: (914) 238–7658; Web-site and e-mail: http://www.cbtf.org;info@cbtf.org
National Brain Tumor Foundation. Provides information about brain tumors and their treatment. Information is available on clinical trials and medical centers specializing in brain tumors. Address: 22 Battery Street, Suite 612, San Francisco, CA 94111-5520; phone: 1-800-934-CURE; Web site and e-mail: http://www.braintumor.org;nbtf@braintumor.org
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stavinoha, P.L. (2010). Life Interrupted: Medulloblastoma. In: Apps, J.N., Newby, R.F., Roberts, L.W. (eds) Pediatric Neuropsychology Case Studies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78965-1_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78965-1_7
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6080-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-78965-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)