Working Life: Around 80% of children who get cancer are now long-term survivors

Jane Pears, consultant paediatric oncologist, CHI Crumlin

Jane Pears, consultant in oncology. Dr Pears practices primarily in CHI at Crumlin, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

“I grew up on a farm in north-east England, where no one in the household had ever been to university, not to mention medicine. When I did my A levels, I realised it was something I could do and it seemed like a very interesting job. The joke is that Dad would have preferred a vet in the family — we had lots of sheep and lambs.

“When I was in my intern year, I had an opportunity to go to a paediatric oncology clinic. An intellectual curiosity drew me to the specialty, which also has a very humane element. As a child, I experienced firsthand the ripple effect on family and extended family of a child with cancer. When my cousin was seven and I was nine, he developed childhood leukaemia. Thankfully, he’s alive and well today.

“Paediatric oncology is very different to adult oncology. All going well, you say ‘goodbye’ to an adult cancer patient after a few years. With a child, you want to make sure they get to do all the normal childhood things. There can be years of follow-up, involving a range of health professionals. You can’t do this specialty in isolation. We need physios, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, social workers, and more.

“When I came to Crumlin first, there were only three paediatric oncologists but now there are six, and it’s allowed me to specialise in tumours of the brain and spine. 

"Recently, I’ve been involved with the charity Brain Tumour Ireland in drawing up a guide to help parents identify brain tumour symptoms in children and teens. 

"There’s quite a significant overlap between symptoms of brain tumours and much less serious childhood illnesses, and there’s a fine balance between alarming parents and making sure that people who need to get seen, get seen.

“It can be very emotional and difficult to impart bad news to families but the good news is that most of the time we can come up with a plan, and around 80% of children who get cancer are long-term survivors.”

• To mark National Brain Tumour Awareness Week (October 20 to 26), Brain Tumour Ireland will host a webinar, ‘Heads up: supporting children with a brain tumour,’ on Monday, October 20, from 6pm to 7.30pm.
  
• Brain Tumour Ireland has also published a new Heads Up booklet to help people identify brain tumour symptoms in children and teenagers. For more information, visit braintumourireland.com.