No parent is ever prepared to hear the words,“Your child has cancer,” but according to the American Cancer Society, more than 11,000 children under the age of 15 will receive a cancer diagnosis in 2019. While the rate of childhood cancer is less than one percent of all cancers, the rates of cancer for children under the age of 18 continues to rise.
A cancer diagnosis is life changing for anyone but it can often affect families with children differently than adults who are living with cancer.
HOW CANCER AFFECTS FAMILIES
Every family handles and experiences a cancer diagnosis differently. Inarguably, finding out that your child is sick is a parent’s worst nightmare. Here are a few ways that childhood cancer affects families.
Relationship Changes Between Parents
In households where two parents are present, a childhood cancer diagnosis can often lead to changes in the relationship between the parents. While some parents experience a stronger bond with positive changes, some may experience negative changes such as feeling distant, resentment, lack of communication, and even a loss of intimacy.
Learning your child has cancer can be a pivotal point in the relationship between parents and while some are able to work through the challenges together, some relationships disintegrate.
Single parents or parents who are in a co-parenting but not living together situation may also have challenges with relationships. Many parents feel alone despite having a support system around them.
While family counseling or attending a cancer support group is an important, and strongly recommended resource, for many families, it’s sometimes not enough to repair relationships that are struggling or have changed.
Child Development and Socialization
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, they will experience a variety of changes in their life regardless of age. Depending on the age of the child and the type of cancer they have, their physical and mental development may be affected.
School-aged children or young adolescents are often forced to miss school due to being sick, attending appointments, and receiving treatment. For many children, this is an integral time in their life for cognitive development and socialization. While some children attend school when they can or receive at-home curriculum, their relationships with school friends, peers, and even their siblings may change. It’s not uncommon for children with cancer to experience social or emotional issues or have depression.
Financial Stress
Perhaps one of the most challenging things to deal with as a family, aside from the child’s cancer diagnosis itself, is the financial stress that accompanies cancer. Even with health insurance, many families are left with a mounting financial debt. Many parents max out their paid leave and even face the threat of termination from their job as they face the choice to work or care for their child.
Many hardworking American families are already making ends meet and trying to build up a savings in the event of an emergency. It’s nearly impossible to emotionally or financially prepare for childhood cancer. Even families who have minimal financial hardship feel the financial stress eventually.
How to Help Families Living With Cancer
If you know someone who’s child is living with cancer, it can be difficult to know what to say or how to help. Showing your support is one of the best things you can do to help. Simply telling a parent that you are there or checking in from time to time is a good place to start.
Since cancer is expensive and will financially drain a family, it’s essential to donate to nonprofits like the ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation, who works one-on-one with families in the Richmond area. The foundation not only helps out financially but gives children and their families the emotional, spiritual, and educational support they may need during a challenging time during treatments and in the years that follow a cancer diagnosis.
