Research summary
Most children with cancer survive because they receive intensive treatments. But unfortunately, these treatments often have distressing side effects. Dr. Lillian, Canada Research Chair in Supportive Care in Pediatric Oncology, is finding ways to address them.
Sung and her research team have already developed Supportive Care Prioritization, Assessment and Recommendations for Kids (SPARK). It is a web-based application that tracks the negative symptoms suffered by children as the result of cancer treatments and improves access to guidelines to manage symptoms. Now, Sung and her team are determining the impact of SPARK on symptom control and survival through two randomized trials as well as a link with a Canadian registry. Ultimately, they hope to provide tools to control symptoms and improve quality of life for children receiving cancer treatments.