Children from 6 to 9 years old
What is cancer?
Many many questions
Nobody can answer this question. Getting cancer is just bad luck, sheer bad luck.
Maybe you were very angry at dad or mom, said something mean, or dad or mom tripped over your bike. That’s of course very annoying, but nobody gets cancer from that. So, cancer is NOT your fault!
No, doctors try very hard to make the cancer go away. It doesn’t always work, but fortunately, many dads and moms get better. Sometimes it takes a while though.
Cancer comes from the Latin word “cancer”, which means crab or lobster. A tumor or cancerous growth looks like a little ball with tentacles. When the discoverers of cancer saw such a little ball, they thought of a crab or lobster.
Cancer has been around for a long time. During excavations in Egypt they found mummies of people who had cancer. The disease cancer is therefore very old.
Some children think cancer is contagious, but that is NOT true. So, you can still give dad or mom a kiss or hug! Also, tell your friends because sometimes they think cancer is contagious too.
Yes, but children getting cancer is much less common than dads, moms, grandpas and grandmas. If you line up 1,000 people who have cancer, there will be 995 adults and 5 children.
Yes, animals can get cancer too. After all, an animal’s body is made up of cells just like a human body. Those cells can get sick too.
A tumor is another word for a clump of cells. Other words are growth, lump, or bump. But be careful: not every lump or bump is cancer!
Sick cells can wander through the body. A new tumor can form where the cancer cell ends up. That’s called a metastasis.
There are over a 100 different types of cancer. Each type has a different name. For example, there’s breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, a brain tumor, blood cancer (leukemia), and so on.
Tests
Treatment
Changes
What about you?
School
What helps?
Talk about cancer
The future
Fortunately, many parents get better again. The cancer stays away and the unpleasant time of hospital, treatments and being sad is over.
Some parents have been changed by the cancer and the treatments. They are missing a breast, have a scar or a stoma. Others have to do exercises every day to get stronger again. Sometimes you don’t notice anything on the outside, but there is still a lot of worry going on. Then your father or mother goes for a walk, cycle, work in the garden or make sculptures. Or they go and talk to someone. Because that helps. But of course you know that too.
Of course, your father or mother still has to go to the hospital every now and then to see if everything continues to go well. But that too diminishes after a while. The cancer becomes a memory. Maybe you’ll think about it again later, maybe you won’t. Everything is good.
If mom or dad doesn’t get better
If it is not possible to get rid of the cancer, there are often medications that ensure that the cancer cells remain silent for a while. And when those medicines no longer work, there are sometimes new medicines available. So the cancer cells may remain there, but not grow or change. So your mom or dad can live for a very long time!
The cancer cells must of course be closely monitored. So your mom or dad will have to go to the hospital every now and then. And maybe your mom or dad is no longer in great shape. Being tired and sad is also part of it because it is quite strange to know that those cancer cells do not go away.
When mom or dad dies
Sometimes a person is so sick that the doctor thinks he or she will die soon. You will feel angry, sad and scared. You may have all kinds of questions, such as when your mom or dad will die and how that will happen. Talk about it with your parents or the doctor.
It’s nice to keep doing things. You can make a wish jar or an idea box with notes of things you would like to do together, such as baking cookies or reading in the big bed. Maybe you can take a selfie or video as a memory.
If mom or dad is in severe pain and is confused or scared, the doctor can give medication to ensure that your dad or mom no longer feels anything and goes to sleep. If you want to say something or give a hug, do so before the doctor gives these medications. It may take a few days for your mom or dad to die.
A dying person sleeps more and more and needs less and less food and drink. Maybe you want to lie next to mom or dad for a while, or you hope it will be over soon. It's not strange if you think this. It's just hard when someone you love dies. Maybe you want to say something, do some crafts or write something. Or especially cuddle a lot.
Some dads or moms are so sick that they no longer want to continue living. They ask the doctor to help them die. Maybe you don't understand it, but really, your mom or dad loves you very much. And yet it doesn't work anymore. Give one last hug or kiss. The doctor first gives you an injection of medicine that makes your mom or dad fall very deeply asleep. Then a medicine that causes the heart to stop beating.
After mom or dad dies, there will be a funeral or cremation. Maybe you want to write something about mom or dad or paint the coffin. Maybe you want to make music or sing. Maybe you don't want these kinds of things. It may take a while before you notice that you are doing better again.