Education as advocacy: bringing pathology into the care of children with leukemia.

Abstract

A diagnosis of childhood leukemia is frequently accompanied by fear, confusion, and a loss of agency for children and families navigating an unfamiliar health care system. While advances in paediatric oncology have dramatically improved survival, little attention has been paid to how young patients understand their illness or how diagnostic medicine is communicated with them. Patient-centred pathology offers a novel, advocacy-oriented approach by bringing diagnostic expertise out of the laboratory and into direct conversation with patients and families. This Critical Lens describes The Cellfie Project, a Canadian, first-of-its-kind patient-centred pathology education initiative for children with leukemia. By enabling young patients to visualize and understand their own disease through guided interactions with hematopathologists, the program reframes education as an essential component of care. We argue that patient-centred pathology represents an underutilized opportunity to improve health literacy, reduce anxiety, and promote equity in paediatric care. We call on clinicians, educators, and policymakers to recognize diagnostic transparency as a core element of child- and family-centred health care.