Cancer is a significant global health issue, with increasing incidence and mortality rates.1 According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there were approximately 19.3 million cases of cancer and 10.0 million cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2020.2 This represents an increase in cancer cases compared to 2018 data.2 Childhood cancers account for a small percentage of all cancer cases, ranging from 0.5% to 4.6%.3 In 2020, there were 197,410 cancer cases in children aged 0 to 18 worldwide, with 92,154 cases occurring in children aged between 10 and 18.3

Cancer, regardless of age and gender, can affect every individual, causing them to experience a situation they may not be familiar with.4 Individuals may be unable to apply the coping mechanisms they are accustomed to or may not find themselves with sufficient coping power.5,6 This situation can lead to emotions such as fear, anxiety, and stress in individuals.7 One of the challenging periods, especially for coping with a cancer diagnosis, is the adolescence and teenage years, which we plan to investigate, covering the early 10- to 18-year-old range.8 This period is characterized by relationships with individuals outside of parents gaining importance, a focus on peers and peer-related social relationships, sudden emotional ups and downs due to physical changes, and a tendency to isolate oneself from the social environment.9,10 Physical and mental development require external approval and encouragement.11 Even in healthy children, the absence of this approval and social support can result in negative development. At the same time, pediatric oncology patients are more vulnerable due to the side effects of the disease and treatment process or the physical and psychological effects it leaves behind.12 For children still undergoing psychosocial development, receiving a cancer diagnosis poses an additional challenge in their developmental process.4,13 This is because children in this stage generally have fewer or inadequate coping mechanisms than an average adult, and this can make it more difficult to accept the disease due to the negative effects brought about by diagnosis and treatment.14

In addition to psychosocial disturbances, it is important not to overlook the symptoms caused by treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery in patients in this group. In a study conducted by Turan et al to identify posttreatment symptoms in pediatric oncology patients aged between 10 and 18 years, the most common symptoms were found to be fatigue (76.1%), irritability (69.6%), hair loss (65.2%), nausea (60.9%), and feeling sad (60.9%), with higher rates of psychological symptoms reported.15 Furthermore, pediatric oncology patients often experience many problems in psychological and social areas due to being in their growth and development stages. This is often caused by various factors such as the length of therapy, children not understanding or accepting this process, distancing themselves from their peers, and the disease becoming a stigma for them.16 This period, which is considered more vulnerable, makes the situation for pediatric oncology patients more complex and exhausting compared to adult cancer patients.17 Therefore, controlling and managing patients' attitudes toward their illnesses is crucial. Minimizing psychosocial problems will improve the patient's experience during treatment and enhance the treatment's effectiveness.

The effects of psychosocial support on the disease process have been studied with various groups and diseases.18 Research has even focused on the psychosocial support needed by families of children with cancer.18,19 However, studies directly focusing on the needs felt by the child have been quite limited. In the existing literature, there have been studies involving interventions such as art and play therapy or educational programs aimed at improving the attitudes of pediatric oncology patients toward their illnesses.20, 21, 22 However, no studies have been identified investigating the effects of social and societal support on pediatric oncology patients.

This study aims to examine the effects of psychosocial support videos provided by the community on the attitudes and symptoms of pediatric oncology patients toward their illnesses to contribute to addressing the limitations in the literature. Given this context, receiving support is expected to positively affect the process of accepting the illness, especially in children in the early adolescent period going through one of the most crucial stages of development. In this context, it is important to study the impact of support on pediatric oncology patients by comparing their baseline data before starting treatment with longitudinal data collected during the treatment process and afterward to examine the patients' illness attitudes and the effects on the symptoms they experience.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of psychosocial support videos provided by the community on the attitudes of pediatric oncology patients between the ages of 10 and 18 toward their diseases and treatment-related symptoms.

How do community-supported videos affect pediatric oncology patients' attitudes toward their disease?

How do community-supported videos affect pediatric oncology patients' experienced symptoms due to chemotherapy treatment?