Comparison of Quality of Life and Learning Success of Adolescents Surviving Cancer and Their Classmates

The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life and school success of adolescent survivors and their classmates. A survey was conducted among 21 cancer survived 12-18-year-old children and 95 of their classmates by using questionnaires covering (a) characteristics of the quality of life; (b) characteristics of the learning process; and (c) level of the fear of cancer recurrence. Significant difference was found in the field of physical and emotional functions but contrary to expected, the members of the control group reported lower values than survivor children. Those children that were teased because of cancer made friends hardly and got involved in social programs with more difficulty. With reference to the level of development of school motivation and the use of learning strategies, it was experienced a significant difference between the two groups only in the field of planning. Our results show that the better the survived children's general quality of life is the better results they achieve at school. Their learning achievement is influenced to a much bigger extent by social functions than their physical disadvantages.