Talking to Children about Cancer
This book is meant to be a tool to assist you in talking
to young children. It is not meant to
make things more difficult or complicated for you as you are dealing with
cancer. By providing you with a choice
of pages and topics, we hope that you can use exactly what feels right to you
in helping your children understand and cope with cancer in the family. Please
do
not stress about which pages to choose, or how many pages to utilize. After using the book once or twice, your
children’s responses will guide you to the next choice of pages and topics.
Remember, this is a book for ongoing use, not just for
one time. If your child doesn’t like a
particular page, or a page makes him or her feel worried, you can remove it
together. If you would like to create a
page of your own, use the back of one of the printed pages and draw it with
dry-erase markers.
It is also important to think of this book as a guide for
you to use in telling a story to your children, rather than needing to follow
the words on each page verbatim. The
captions on the pages are very short, and you should feel free to add personal
comments or expand upon the meaning of the pages as it applies to your family. If one page becomes important to your child,
you can take it out of the book and leave it by your child’s bed, or put it on
his or her bulletin board. The pages are
pretty sturdy, and will probably not be torn by little hands!
Speaking of special pages, we would very much like to
know how you used this book, and whether there are other pages or topics you
would like us to address in future editions of
Someone I Love is Sick. Please click on the
link for “
Tell us how this book helped you.”
That way you can email us your feedback.
All comments and suggestions are appreciated.
All of the articles on the pages in this section are written by the author of
Someone I Love is Sick,
Kathleen McCue.
Publisher's
Note - The Gathering Place Press (TGPP) neither represents nor
guarantees that the practices described herein will, if followed,
ensure safe and effective patient care. The recommendations contained
in this book reflect TGPP's judgement regarding the state of general
knowledge and practice in the field as of the date of publication. The
recommendations may not be appropriate for use in all circumstances.
The author and publisher cannot be held responsible for any liability
incurred as a consequence of the use or application of any of the
contents of this book.