Valerie Crabtree, Vice President, Psychosocial Services at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, shared on LinkedIn:
“I was honored to deliver a keynote at the SIOP 2026 Congress on a topic that has been central to my clinical and research work for many years:
Fatigue in children and adolescents with cancer.
Throughout my career, I have worked with patients who struggle with profound fatigue during treatment and into survivorship.
What has always struck me is that many children and families assume fatigue is simply something they have to endure. They often do not realize that it is a symptom worth discussing, assessing, and managing.
One of the key messages of my talk was that cancer-related fatigue is not just being tired.
It can affect school participation, relationships, emotional well-being, physical activity, and a child’s ability to engage in the things that matter most to them. Yet it is often underrecognized despite being one of the most common and distressing challenges children with cancer face.
Fatigue can also be difficult to treat. There is no single solution that works for every patient.
However, growing evidence suggests that thoughtful assessment andindividualized interventions, including physical activity, psychosocial support, sleep optimization, and circadian-based approacheslike light therapy, can make a meaningful difference.
My hope moving forward is that we continue to view fatigue as a modifiable symptom rather than an unavoidable consequence of cancer.
Every child deserves the opportunity to pursue their goals.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share this work and for the conversations with colleagues and friends from around the world at the SIOP 2026 Congress. As an added bonus, my parents had the opportunity to watch my address!
Advances in supportive care happen through collaboration, and together we can continue improving the lives of children and survivors affected by cancer.”
You can also read: Addressing the Psychosocial Needs of Survivors of Pediatric Cancer – Childhood Cancer International
