Parents, children learn to accept cancer
Stoff-Ranoter
By CAITLIN GOODWIN
Every Wednesday a group of parents gather to discuss their children, but they do not talk about bicycles, tricycles and report cards. They discuss the problems of having children with cancer.
They are participating in a University of Kansas Medical Center program designed to help parents and their children cope with the disease and death. The program, called psychosocial rehabilitation, is staffed by a child psychologist, a child psychiatrist, a child nurse, or two women who have lost children to cancer.
The parents compare the treatments their children are receiving and discuss ways the children can cope with them.
AT A RECENT group session one parent told the group that she and her husband had found that putting a bitter pill into a gelatin capsule had helped their son swallow the pill more easily.
"That's great!" another mother said. "I tasted that
pill once and it was the most horrible thing I'd ever tasted."
Nancy Cairns, the program's child psychologist, said the staff was involved with each case from the beginning.
"Ours is the only program we know of in which the psychosocial side of the team operates so closely with the medical side," she said. "As soon as we hear that a new patient has been diagnosed, we go talk to the child and his family. We let them know that we are there to talk to."
She said that parent participation was voluntary, but that most parents came to the sessions. Usually another parent would persuade them that the program was worthwhile.
"THE CHILD is in the hospital for at least a month," Cairns said, "and the parents get to know each other. The other parents provide safety and security, because they have been there."
In the same session, the parents discussed how their children lost their hair, an effect chemotherapy
"All of a sudden we looked in the back seat and there was his hair flying all over and the winnie looked like a wimp."
sometimes produces. One couple told of a time they took their child on a trip with the car windows open.
Everyone laughed, as if the story brought back memories.
All the parents at this particular session were from outside the Kansas City area. One woman, from a neighboring community, came.
"It's rough being away from the rest of my family, especially during Christmas," she said. "All I've seen is the hospital and the Safeway across the street."
CAIRNS SAID the children usually accepted their disease more easily than their parents did because they were less likely to show symptoms.
"We can tell a child that his treatment might last six months," she said, "and be accepted that because it works."
"The parents can't put the disease out of their
minds, but a child can. A lot of our kids try to protect their parents, or vice versa. The kids worry about being in danger.
Brothers and sisters of the child are the hardest to deal with, Cairns said. They often feel guilty and think they caused their brother's or sister's disease. She said they would become angry about the situation, or afraid that they might develop the disease.
She said that the brothers and sisters became jealous because of the extra attention the patients received, but that the jealousy usually disappeared after they witnessed the painful treatments.
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL team often lets children see their sick brother or sister, she said, because children can develop horrific fantasies about the cancer treatment. Seeing the patient recessuses them that a
The team also goes to the child's school and discusses his problem with the teachers and principal, Cairns said, because a lack of acceptance by a cancer patient's peers can be traumatic.
"They think the child will either be at death's door or perfectly all right," she said. "We want them to know what the dangers are and how to cope with the situation."
The child's change of appearance, most commonly hair loss or an excessive weight gain, can be hard for them.
Cairns said that if the patient made it through the first week of school, he would be fine. It helped if the teacher had a smile.
The child usually knows more about his disease than doctors who are not cancer specialists, do she, said. That is true of the parents, also. During a group session, medical terminology is tossed around as if it
'THE TEEN-AGERS have the most difficulty in adjustment. But if the child or the teen-agent can reach out to his friends once and explain his disease to them he will be OK.'
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
See CANCER back page
KANSAN
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Canada trip set to view eclipse
Vol.89, No.77
Monday, January 22, 1979
See story page seven
Lunchtime rally
About 200 people gathered for a free speech rally outside Strong Hall at noon Friday. Ron Willis,
professor of speech and drama, and four others spoke concerning the literature distribution policy although it was recently suspended by the University Event Committee.
KU observes Iowa's pre-enrollment
By JOHN LOGAN Staff Renorter
A computerized pre-enrollment system being considered for use at the University of Kansas is working well at the University of Florida.
The official, John E. Moore, director of admissions at Iowa, said more than 18,000 of the school's 22,000 students had enrolled before the spring semester began.
A RCU committee recently submitted a report on computer pre-enrollment to Del Shankel, executive vice chancellor. The report said that if the administration decided to change to pre-enrollment, the Iowa system should be used.
Under that system, students enroll for the next semester a month before final examinations of the previous semester begin. Students enroll, according to a letter schedule, at a central enrollment office that has a computer equipped with 24 video display terminals.
EACH STUDENT gives a computer programmer a course schedule with three or four alternatives for each class period. The computer then provides the student's schedule for the next semester.
The process takes five to 10 minutes for each student, according to low officials, and 20,000 students can be enrolled in two weeks.
'One of our biggest problems was that a department or in-
The officials said there were few problems in the first preenrolment session.
structurer would put a limit on the number of students in their classes so we did run into a lot of filled classes," Moore said.
"They were mostly in freshman and sophomore core classes, so we went back and lifted the size limit on those courses to allow the
Moore said the only breakdown occurred when the computer quit working for an hour.
However, Moore said the system meant more work for the school's faculty. Each teacher advises several students. To enroll, a student must pick up a permit card from his adviser and have a tentative schedule approved by the adviser.
"The University of Iowa student newspaper surveyed a number of students during enrollment," Moore said. "Almost all were very confident."
MOORE SAID most Iowa students appeared to like the new enrollment system.
enrollment office and could go through enrollment without seeing an adviser.
"The new system forces the student to go to his adviser," Moore said. "And it它s the advisers to do their job."
Under the system proposed for KU, a student would pick up his permit and enrollment card from his school's academic dean's office. The student would select courses and have his schedule approved by his adviser before pre-enrolling.
THE STUDENT'S schedule would then be entered into a com-
pater. If there were no conflicts, the student would receive a complete class schedule.
If only a partial schedule could be made because of conflicts, the student would keep his permit and enrollment card and receive a
Students with partial schedules would return during the last week of pre-enrollment to add the classes they were missing. If it would not be possible to complete the schedule then, the student would have to wait until school started to add the classes he needed.
During the regular enrollment period before classes start, students would pick up their fee cards, schedule cards and registration forms.
THE PRE-ENROLMLE proposal is scheduled to be presented to the University Senate Executive Committee Feb. 1, when SenExR will vote on the proposal.
If approved by SenEx and the administration, it will still take more than a year and between $0.00 and $110.00 to start the
Iowa, which leases much of the equipment, calculated that the cost of installing the computer pre-enrollment system was close to $60,000.
"We leased 24 video display terminals and four printers to the schedules." Hall Dirksen, associate registrar at Iowa, said. "We think we can get by next time with only 18 terminals and three printers."
Speech group waiting on KU
By JOHN LOGAN
Staff Reporter
Organizers of a free-speech rally held Friday on the steps of Strong Hall say they are going to wait for the administration to make the next move in the controversy surrounding the KU literature distribution policy.
The literature distribution policy, which outlined where and how literature could be distributed on campus and banned handing out literature in campus buildings, was suspended last week by Deil Shankel, executive vice chancellor, pending review by the Events Department.
THE POLICY was an effort by the Events Committee to condense existing literature distribution guidelines into one list. The list was
Since then, members of the coalition have protested several times handing out literature in campus buildings.
During the past week the group handed out leaflets in Strong Hall and in the Kannus Union lobby, calling for the elimination of the
At the rally, a lunch-bear crowd of about 40 watched as members of the coalition and other speakers took blasts blasting the policy and
Miller spake first and accused the administration of sacrificing student rights in order to make the University look tranquil for years.
"There is stonewelling from Strong Hall." Miller told the crowd. "I don't think the promoters of the policy are brown-shirts--They just want a neat, orderly campus when the Board of Regents come through."
Kon Kuby, Lawrence senior and a member of the coalition accused the administration of censorship under the gueuse of campus
"The role the University plays is odious," Kuly said. "We're serving notice to the administration that we will not tolerate crenure."
Kyle Smith, Liberty, Mo., law student, said the real problem was not the policy, but the attitude of the administration.
"It's that attitude we have to fight, not any one thing."
*Archie's worm farm has an attitude problem,* Smith said. "They (administrators) are very image conscious. They want to let us
The messages of the protestors were greeted with enthusiasm by most of the crowd, which clapped and cheered for each speaker.
"I think the rally is great," Michael Bradford, Boston senior, said. "I've been here four years and I've only seen a handful of rallies. I don't know how to deal with it."
Kuby and Miller said they also were pleased with the demonstration.
"I think we made our point." Kuby said.
Miller agreed and added that he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.
Several KU administrators watched part of the rally from the second floor windows in Stream but declined to comment.
Members of the Events Committee would not comment on the demonstration but said they expected the policy to be changed.
Ron Willa, professor of speech and drama and a member of the Events Committee, said the intention of the committee had not been
"The thought behind it was to maintain classes in a normal manner. The discussion centered on keeping classes real." he said.
"We didn't really consider the possibility of literature distribution in the rotunda of Strong or the Union lobby."
"As I look around the committee, I can see no dissenting voters against changing the policy," he said. "They're all champions of free
List fee too high, bookstore boss savs
Rv ANNE IVEY
Staff Renorter
Bill Muggy, manager of the Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Rd., said Friday that a $500 charge he had paid each semester since last spring to the Kansas Union Bookstore for the KU instructors' book list was "excessive" compared with what most schools
Muggy said most regional schools either provided the instructors' list at the cost of duplicating it or shared the cost of making multicopy forms to compile the list. He said the service usually cost $10 to $15 a semester.
However, Bette Brock, manager of the Union Bookstore, said the charge was to cover not only copying the list but also labor costs.
An instructors' list includes all the books KU teachers will use in their classes. The teachers fill out requisition forms provided by the Union Bookstore before each semester so the bookstore can purchase these books from its distributors.
BECAUSE OF THE time factor and cost, Muggy said, he cannot hire someone to gather the information for the instructors' list.
"I was given a take-it-or-leave-it contract," Muggy said. "It was a whimsical amount that their lawyers came up with."
But Warner Ferguson, associate director of the Kansas Union, said Muggad had not been forced to accept the contract.
Muggy said he also objected to the way contract negotiations, which had set the amount for the lists, had been conducted. He said he and his lawyer had been excluded from the first session of contract negotiations.
Ferguson said the $600 was "stated in the contract as an arbitrary amount," and that the contracts would be based on the amount of providing each request.
CURRENTLY, THE Union Bookstore sends requisition forms to all instructors. The instructors list the titles of all classes they are teaching, the books their students will need for these classes, the publishers of the books and other information.
This textbook information is passed on to the Jayhawk Bookstore.
Both Ferguson and Brock said that when negotiations had begun on the first contract, it had been too late to change the system of contracts.
Muggy also said he was not sure he had received all the information and if the information he did receive was correct.
She said, "It would take too much of our time and energy to decide what to withhold. Besides, it just isn't ethical."
condition and the in-the-hat team, we probably received 90 to 95 percent of the information after the Union had processed it and gone through
"It's our obligation to carry everything asked for. We're pleased to," Brock said. "But we don't have an option. Why should we give you a package?"
BROCK SAID THAT MUGY had received all the written information the Union found and that there was a folder with this information.
Spring enrollment increases slightly
KU's tentative spring enrollment took another jump when compared with last spring's figures, but only a small one, of 105 students.
The figures showed that 22,355 students have enrolled this spring, compared with 22,349 last spring.
The Lawrence campus has an enrollment of 20,550, compared with 20,539 last spring. There are 1,805 students enrolled at the University of Kansas Medical Center; 1,801 enrolled there last spring.
Chancellor Archie R. Dykes said yesterday that official gurres would be made on Feb. 13, the 20th day of class. Late
Last fall's enrollment set a record when 23,564 students enrolled at the Lawrence campus and 1,918 at the Med Center.