For Kids: When Someone You Love Has Cancer
If someone you love has cancer, you probably feel sad, angry, and confused. It's OK
to feel this way. Cancer is a serious disease. Your loved one is sick. He or she will
need to see the healthcare provider a lot. It can help to learn more about cancer.
If you have any questions about your loved one's cancer, first ask your loved one,
but you can also ask a relative or a healthcare provider.
What is cancer?
Cancer is when one of the body's cells starts to divide out of control. When the body's
cells do this, they make many cells. These cells can create a lump. This lump is called
a tumor [TOO-mer]. Cancer can also be in the blood (such as in leukemia [loo-KEY-mee-uh]).
In leukemia, the cancer cells grow out of control and push out the normal cells. This
makes it hard for the healthy cells to fight infection, stop bleeding, and carry oxygen
throughout the body.
Healthcare providers are not always sure why cancer happens. This is especially true
with childhood cancers. But they do know causes of some types of cancers. For example,
healthcare providers know that smoking can cause lung cancer. But even if they aren't
sure of the cause, you definitely can't catch cancer like you can catch a cold. People
can die from cancer, but every year healthcare providers are finding new ways to help
people survive cancer. It's also important to remember that you cannot cause someone
to get cancer. If your mother has cancer and you were mad at her, you did not make
her get cancer.
Treatment
There are more than 100 different kinds of cancer. Treatment for each kind of cancer
is different. Even two people who have the same type of cancer can get different kinds
of treatment. Your loved one may have to go to the hospital for treatment. He or she
may stay there for a while. The hospital may be far from your home, so you may not
see your loved one very often. Or, your loved one may go to a clinic that is close
to home. At a clinic, your loved one gets a treatment and then goes home. Your loved
one may have to go to the clinic a few times a week for a treatment.
There are four main kinds of treatment for cancer: surgery, radiation [RAY-dee-AY-shun],
chemotherapy, and biological [bi-oh-LOJ-uh-kul] therapy. Many times, people have to
have more than one type of treatment to kill the cancer. For example, someone may
have surgery. Then they will have radiation to kill any leftover cancer cells that
the surgery did not remove.
If you are curious about your loved one's treatment, you may want to ask if you can
go with him or her to a clinic visit or another appointment. Your loved one may not
want you to come. Or, he or she may be happy that you want to go. If you go, you can
meet your loved one's healthcare providers. You can also ask them questions. It may
be scary to go, but it will help you understand your loved one's treatment:
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Surgery. Healthcare providers use surgery to remove the tumor. If your loved one has surgery,
he or she will have to stay in the hospital to recover. He or she may be there overnight,
for just a few days, or longer.
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Radiation. This is when a healthcare provider aims high-energy rays at a tumor. Some people who
have had radiation say that it's almost like getting an X-ray. If your loved one has
radiation, he or she will have to go to the hospital or clinic to get it. He or she
will probably have to go a few times a week for treatment. Radiation usually doesn't
hurt when it's happening. However, it may cause side effects, like blistering of the
skin or feeling very tired.
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Chemotherapy. This is when your loved one gets medicine to kill cancer cells. Sometimes your loved
one takes a pill. Other times, your loved one has to have a shot or get medicine through
an IV. (An IV is a special tube that can go in the arm, chest, or another part of
the body so the medicine goes directly into the bloodstream.) Depending on the type
of chemotherapy, your loved one may have to go to the hospital or clinic to get it.
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Biological therapy. This is when the healthcare provider uses special substances to fight cancer. These
substances help the immune cells fight infection and disease. Your loved one may get
a shot, have an IV, or have an operation. Your loved one may have to go to the hospital
or clinic for treatment.
What are side effects?
Some cancer treatments have side effects. Side effects happen when the treatment tries
to kill the cancer cells and it kills healthy cells by mistake. Not everyone has side
effects. Side effects depend on the type of cancer and the treatment. Side effects
usually go away when treatment ends. But some side effects can stay. Common side effects
include:
Sometimes cancer treatments can cause your loved one to lose his or her hair. This
can look scary because we're used to seeing most people with hair. Hair most often
grows back after treatment ends. If your loved one loses his or her hair, he or she
may wear a wig or a scarf to protect the scalp. Or, your loved one may not wear anything.
This may make you feel uncomfortable. Talk to your loved one about how you feel. You
may even decide to get your head shaved so that you and your loved one are bald together!
What's going to happen to me?
If your loved one has cancer, the usual routine at home may change. It's not going
to be easy. Here are some things you can expect.
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Helping out. You may have to help out more around the house if your loved one has cancer. For example,
you may have to set the table every night. You may feel upset with having more things
to do. You may want to spend more time with your friends. If you feel like you have
too much to do, talk about it with someone.
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Missing loved ones. When a loved one has cancer, he or she may have to go away for treatment. And if
a loved one is away from home a lot, chances are, another loved one is too. For example,
if your mother has cancer, your father may also be with her at the hospital.
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Others caring for you. If one of your parents has cancer, your other parent may need extra help. This may
mean that another relative will come to stay with your family or you may have to go
away to stay with someone. This can be very hard. You will miss your family. But maybe
you will be able to do things with your relative who is taking care of you. They may
take you to the movies or to the zoo.
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Special treatment. If your brother or sister has cancer, it may feel like he or she is getting special
treatment. In a way, he or she has to because he or she is sick. But it may make you
mad. You might get in trouble for doing something, but your brother or sister won't.
Your parents probably want to do all they can for your sick brother or sister. It
may seem like he or she gets away with things because he or she is sick. It doesn't
seem fair, but try not to let it bother you.
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Friends. Your friends may feel funny around you because your loved one has cancer. They may
not want to make you feel bad, so they may not ask about your loved one. Or, they
may not understand cancer. They may tease you or think that they could catch cancer
from you. It may help you to talk to your friends. Your parents may talk to your teacher
and your teacher may talk to the class about cancer. There may also be times when
you don't want to talk about your loved one's cancer. Or you may not want to see your
friends. That's OK. But try to reach out to your friends. They will want to know that
you still care about them. It's important to see your friends.
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Talking about cancer. If you feel sad or mad about your loved one's cancer and its effect on you, talk
to someone. You loved one's hospital may have support groups for kids. There you can
talk to other kids who have a loved one with cancer. Or, it may help you to talk to
a counselor. A counselor can help you understand your feelings.
What will happen to my family?
Many people today survive cancer, but some people do not. Some people die. For some
people who survive cancer, sometimes cancer can come back. You may wonder what will
happen to your family if his or her cancer comes back or if your loved one dies.
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Death. When a loved one has cancer, he or she could die. Many people who have cancer do
not die. You may be very scared thinking that your loved one could die. Your loved
one may be scared too. If one of your parents has cancer, you may wonder what will
happen to you if that parent dies. Chances are, your parents have thought about that.
Talk about how you feel. If you feel funny talking about death with your loved one
who has cancer, talk to someone else. Talk to a parent, relative, or teacher.
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Cancer returns. Sometimes healthcare providers think that they have cured cancer, but it comes back.
When cancer comes back, it usually means that the cancer is serious. Your loved one
will probably need stronger treatment. Again, it's important to talk about how you
feel.
When someone you love has cancer, it can feel like your world is falling apart. It
may be hard to do everyday things, like going to a soccer game. But it's important.
You should help your family when someone has cancer. But you should also help yourself.
Talk about how you feel and try to do everyday things.