Each year about 4,000 children and teens in the United States are diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor. The illness and its treatment can have devastating effects on family, friends, schoolmates, and the larger community. This newly updated edition contains essential information families need during this difficult time. It includes descriptions of the newest treatments, such as computer-assisted surgery, stem cell transplants, and targeted therapies as well as practical advice about how to cope with diagnosis, medical procedures, hospitalization, school, and finances. Woven throughout the text are true stories––practical, poignant, moving, funny––from more than 100 children with cancer, their siblings, and their parents. The book, reviewed by renowned experts in childhood cancer, also contains a cancer survivor's treatment record.