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Katherine Puckett, Ph.D.
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VIDEO: Katherine Puckett, Ph.D. - Cancer Fears Kids Have About A Parents Diagnosis, How Can One Ease The Concern?

Katherine Puckett, Ph.D. shares the three main fears children have when a parent is diagnosed with cancer and what parents can do to relieve these worries.

Katherine Puckett, Ph.D.:
Generally, when a child hears that his or her parent has cancer, again, depending on the child’s age and stage of understanding, but if they’ve known about cancer, if they ever heard about it or even if they just got the idea it’s very serious, one of the first things they’re going to wonder is "Can I catch it?" because especially with young kids, they know you catch the flu, you catch a cold. Do you catch cancer from another person? And related to that, "Does this mean you’re going to die?"

Often they’ve heard either from friends or relatives or on TV even, somebody with cancer died, so, "Are you going to die?" And the third one is, "Did I do something to cause this? Is it my fault in some ways?" Often young children believe that they’re responsible for most things that happen in the world. So, they might be worried that because they were mad at Mommy or they acted out the other day, then she got sick, and it’s their fault.

So, parents can definitely assure children, they can't catch it, and that it’s not their fault. In terms of responding to the question, "Are you going to die from it?" I would hope a parent wouldn’t say, "Oh, of course not," because we never know for sure, but they can tell their children, "I am going to do everything in my power to fight this and stay well because I want to be here with you as long as I can."

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