What teachers want to know about students with cancer.

This article reports the results of a survey of classroom teachers in elementary and high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The teachers were asked to respond to questions about their informational needs and concerns related to students in their classroom who were diagnosed with cancer or receiving cancer treatment. Findings indicated that classroom teachers perceive themselves to be ill prepared to address the needs of the student with cancer. Specific concerns clustered around information deficits regarding the students' physiological and physical vulnerability, physical limitations/alterations following treatment, psychological responses to cancer treatment, and peer interactions. Utilizing data from the survey, a conceptual approach and collaborative intervention scheme were developed.