How to Explain Chemotherapy to a Child

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, one of the hardest parts might be explaining it to the children around you. When a close one is undergoing chemotherapy, it can be very difficult for children. Explaining chemotherapy to children appropriately can make all the difference in helping them to accept the changes.

Instructions

• 1

  Give the child advanced notice. Talk to the child before the chemotherapy starts about what it will be like, how you may change and why it is important. This will give him or her time to digest the information and to get used to the concept.

• 2

  Take your child's age into account. For example, you can explain chemotherapy to a preschooler as "medicine that will help me feel all better." You should explain more to an older child, including what cancer is and the fact that the chemotherapy is helping your body fight off the cancer. A teenager probably knows the basic facts about cancer and chemotherapy, but he or she should be encouraged to learn more about it if he or she seems interested.

• 3

  Focus on how the treatment will affect them. Well before it happens tell them that you may be too tired to drive them places for a little while or that your hair may fall out. Also explain the importance of their washing their hands more often than usual and taking other precautions to prevent spreading germs because your body is more likely to get sick when you're undergoing chemotherapy.

• 4

  Give children a time frame that they can understand. For a younger child, you might give a head's up before each round of chemotherapy. For an older child, you might want to give a timetable of your entire chemotherapy schedule. Give them deadlines that they can relate to, such as "I'll be finished with this round of chemo by the time summer vacation starts" or "I might not feel so well until about a week after Halloween."

• 5

  Follow up on the original conversation. Encourage your child to ask any questions he or she may have, and ask them if their feelings or thoughts have changed since you originally talked.