Follow-up Care
Maintenance care is important for children with MDS. Your child should visit his or her pediatrician at least once a year for a complete physical exam and any additional needed tests.
Regular doctor visits are encouraged to:
- enable doctors to assess the full effect of therapy
- detect and treat disease recurrence
- identify and manage long-term and late effects of treatment
Your pediatrician should recommend a schedule for having your child's learning skills assessed. If your child appears to be experiencing learning disabilities, special education methods can help.
Coordination between your child's pediatrician and an MDS specialist is important for the best care possible. Some treatment centers offer comprehensive follow-up care clinics for childhood cancer survivors. To find one near you, visit The Pediatric Oncology Resource Center.
Your child may experience some long-term and late effects of treatment.
Ongoing Research
Researchers are working to improve their understanding of long-term and late effects and to create guidelines for follow-up care. They're also seeking to understand how factors like aging and social and economic status influence long-term and late effects. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is currently funding an initiative at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to discover and eliminate the causes of cancer treatment's late effects.
