For Immediate Release
October 15, 2007

BUFFALO, NY – Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) and its partners in cancer care will host “Cancer in the Classroom” – an educational program for family members, educators and school professionals – on Thursday, October 25, from 7:30 am to 3:15 pm, at Samuel’s Grande Manor, 8750 Main Street, Williamsville, New York. 

This program will familiarize family members, educators and school professionals, including teachers, nurses, social workers, counselors, and psychologists, with the unique challenges presented by the return to school of a child who has cancer.

The program will discuss childhood cancer, its treatment and possible side effects; identify some of the long-term effects of childhood cancer; describe the return-to-school issues for the child, family, classmates and school professionals; and offer insight into the effect of a parent’s cancer diagnosis on a child.

Sessions include the following: 

• Special Education: Navigating the System under IDEA 2004
• Issues of Children Whose Parent/Sibling Is Diagnosed With Cancer
• Grief and Loss
• Resources for Schools and Families
• Marital and Family Stress Caused by a Child’s Illness
• For Nurses: School-based Management of Students Currently Undergoing Chemotherapy
• Behavioral Issues of Child/Student Diagnosed with Cancer

 “Cancer in the Classroom” is presented by Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Camp Good Days, The American Cancer Society, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and The Make a Wish Foundation of Western New York.

To register or to receive more information, please contact Camp Good Days at (716) 206-0709; Make a Wish Foundation of Western New York at (716) 818-WISH Ext.16 or Roswell Park Cancer Institute at (716) 845-3095.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs in New York, Pennsylvania and in China, For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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