{"id":55031,"date":"2025-04-03T10:10:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T17:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=55031"},"modified":"2025-06-12T14:04:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T21:04:33","slug":"five-tips-for-talking-with-kids-about-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/five-tips-for-talking-with-kids-about-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn Five Thoughtful Ways for Talking With Kids About Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Learn Five Thoughtful Ways for Talking With Kids About Cancer<\/h1>\t\t<time>April 3, 2025<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_ccca4e16fa2a2ac0bde882fdaf8b1162\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, the news can be difficult to process. On top of that, finding the right words to help a child understand can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help navigate this conversation Oncology Social Worker Lisa-Paula da Silva, MSW, LCSW, with <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/good-samaritan-regional-medical-center-radiation-oncology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Radiation Oncology<\/a>, offers the following tips when talking to a child about cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-be-honest\">1. Be Honest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Use Use simple, clear language. Speak slowly and keep sentences short. Pause and allow time for children to process the information. Children may ask detailed questions. It is OK to say you don\u2019t know the answer, but that you will find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-use-age-appropriate-language\">2. Use Age-appropriate Language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An 8-year-old will comprehend differently than a 15-year-old. Allow children to ask questions and let them know it is OK if they do not have any. Leave the door open to talk again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-express-feelings\">3. Express Feelings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Saying something like, \u201cI am sad this is happening\u201d or \u201cThis is scary\u201d can be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-expect-different-reactions\">4. Expect Different Reactions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some children may be quiet, while others may express strong emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-provide-reassurance\">5. Provide Reassurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kids under 10 years of age may worry that they caused the cancer or wonder if they can \u201ccatch\u201d cancer. Some children may need the comfort of knowing there will always be someone to care of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Talking about cancer can be tough. But these tips, a quiet and distraction-free space, and being mindful of your mood and energy can help offer comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/cancerresources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan Cancer Resource Center<\/a> for additional resources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dad-talking-seriously-son-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"A dad having a heartfelt talk with his preteen son while sitting on a park bench together.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dad-talking-seriously-son-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dad-talking-seriously-son-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dad-talking-seriously-son-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn five tips to help talk with kids when a loved one receives a cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":57756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[],"news-types":[270],"services":[229],"specialty":[55],"class_list":["post-55031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-types-feature-article","services-cancer","specialty-oncology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55031"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=55031"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=55031"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=55031"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=55031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}