NU-13: EDUCATING PEDIATRIC HEMATO-ONCOLOGY STAFF MEMBERS IN COPING WITH DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DEATH CAUSED BY BRAIN TUMORS

BACKGROUND: About 30% of pediatric cancer patients succumb to their disease of which about 43% die from brain tumors. In many cases the process of parental mourning begins with the first encounter, particularly in brain tumors with an extremely grave prognosis (i.e. brainstem gliomas). This causes anticipatory bereavement while the child is still alive. “The traumatic experience of his child's death shakes the parent's world and may bring changes which have a negative consequence to the parents quality of life” (1). AIMS: Imparting knowledge and providing guidance to the staff, regarding the complex, yet normal, process of mourning. METHODS: Instruction sessions which focus on the concept of death in different cultures, normal parents' grief and other related issues, are offered for the staff. Current concepts regarding normal bereavement behaviors, anticipatory mourning and complex clinical situations are analyzed. Special cases i.e. a family who has lost two children, or extreme behavioral reactions are discussed at length. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: An ongoing training and support program for pediatric hemato-oncology staff members helps the staff to cope with the tragic death of a young child with cancer, and to accompany the parents in the process of imminent death. “Parental bereavement is a unique form of grief and a normal constellation of reactions to an abnormal event. It is not an illness, a disorder nor pathology and therefore there is no ‘recovery’ from, nor ‘healing’ or an end to it.” (1) 1. Shanun-Klein, H: The Readjustment Model of Parental Bereavement, 2007.