Over a year ago I had the incredible opportunity to join the immense field of oncology. It was a journey of awareness around cancer that I did not anticipate, giving me a much deeper understanding of cancer and its array of treatments. It, however, became alarmingly apparent that the impact of this disease on people and their loved ones, especially the children, was profound.
Apprehension, stress and uncertainty are obvious reactions to a cancer diagnosis. But this reaction isn’t experienced only by the patients themselves, but also by family and friends. Feelings of concern and worry combined with a poor understanding of the prognosis lead to uncertainty in how to offer support and encouragement during this time. The impact exacerbates when small children are involved and where those children are dependent on the patient. How does one explain such a complex disease to a small child? Especially the severity of the consequences for the family?
The sudden disruption of daily routines, financial stress, potential weakening in physical conditions due to treatments, appearance changes, and a decrease in emotional availability may lead to stress, anxiety and uncertainty for them. Some patients may not be able to work or, for that matter, lose their job and therefore their medical insurance. This is a huge stressor.
Time and time again I would hear from the medical community, that patients were anxious about sharing their diagnosis with their loved ones, especially their kids. It can be one of the most difficult conversations to have and can be very distressing for a patient. As parents, we always strive to protect our children’s feelings and many simply don’t know how to explain what cancer is and how it may affect them and their family. One of my friends diagnosed with cancer told me in a conversation, that he has never explained to his 7-year-old what is happening to him. The heartbreaking reality is that he has been in cancer treatment for almost 3 years.
Being a mom myself and putting myself in the patient’s shoes, I couldn’t imagine what they must be experiencing, facing cancer and the apprehension that goes into trying to explain the complex diagnoses, treatments, changes in the daily routine to their small children. This is what led me to the idea of creating a resource that can help patients to explain the disease to their kids. My whole idea was to put into simple terms, with images, an explanation of the disease in a way that children can understand. But in addition to that, to provide a conversational support resource that literally gives the right words to parents and patients, during this very overwhelming time. The book is a prompt that can be read and reread as many times as needed to help with orientating children to a new lifestyle.
I created The Pink Sun with the help of the medical community, patients and child life therapists and I chose to include art as a medium to bring interaction between the reader and the child. The art is designed to help give visual support to children for them express emotions they may not be able to verbalize. In a situation where the child has no control over what is happening, the child will at the very least have art as a medium to express themselves which is what makes it empowering.
It is my sincere hope that no one will need this book and if they do, I hope they find it helpful and empowering for themselves and their children.
The ebook is available to preorder on Amazon. The paperback will be released on February 4th, 2025.