  Helping Children Adjust to a Cancer Diagnosis
Informing children of cancer, or other illnesses, can often seem a concerning experience - how much do you tell the child? How can you answer their questions? This fact sheet provides guidance on this issue; giving the reader tips on this often tricky issue. As a result, this fact sheet is ideal as a hand-out for patients, or as a tip-sheet for health care professionals during consultation with their patient.
Although intended for cancer patients who have children, the tips in this fact sheet could apply to any other patient who needs guidance when informing their children of their illness.
This fact sheet is sourced from Ausmed Publications' textbook: 'Psychosocial Care of Cancer Patients: A health professional's guide to what to say and do', editors Dr Jemma Gilchrist & Dr Katharine Hodgkinson, (2008) chapter ten: 'Supporting families and children', by Kim Hobbs.
Author: Kim Hobbs
Kim Hobbs holds a master's degree in social work and has been the social worker with the Westmead Centre for Gynaecological Cancer in Sydney since its inception in 1994. The Centre has established an innovative model of multidisciplinary care, in which psychosocial support services are an integral component of comprehensive cancer care for women with gynaecological cancer and their families. Since 2001, Kim has been actively involved in a number of multidisciplinary research projects - such as investigating the effectiveness of cancer support groups, the needs of cancer caregivers, the training and support needs of cancer caregivers, and the needs and perceptions of women with recurrent ovarian cancer - which lead to publications in international journals. Kim has also been a member of several committees and working parties, advocating improved psychosocial services for people with cancer and their families, and developing resources for clinicians and consumers. She maintains professional association and committee memberships with the Australian Association of Social Workers and Clinical Oncological Society of Australia among others.
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