A question was raised by a female reader regarding my recent post, “Teaching Kids About Cancer.” She asked whether or not I thought it was appropriate to speak to young children about cancer if no one in the kids’ inner circle had been affected by it.
My answer is simple: Your child, your rules. My family has been directly affected by the insidious disease, so my daughter and my brother’s young children have all received a crash course on cancer. So, to answer the reader’s question, I do think it is appropriate to speak to young children about cancer, regardless of whether someone they know or love is battling the disease. This is not to say that I think it is appropriate to confuse them with statistics or scare them with facts that don’t pertain to their situation. However, cancer is scary, for everyone involved in a diagnosis. I want my kids to know that they can come to me with any questions and concerns about the disease, no matter what.
With that said, I realize that some parents are afraid to broach the subject with children because they fear it will cause needless anxiety. However, in my opinion, cancer, especially in this day and age, is an impossible secret to keep. Even if you haven’t spoken to your kids about it doesn’t mean that someone else hasn’t. What’s more, parents and children often react very differently when faced with a problem, so assuming your child will respond the same way you do to a certain situation may not prudent.
It’s been 26 years since October was declared “Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” yet the disease continues to take a toll on innocent victims the world over. According to CBS News, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after non-melanoma skin cancer. What’s more, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. One in eight. That’s a lot of women. Last year it was one in nine. The numbers are not improving, people.
If you have escaped cancer’s wrath either directly or indirectly, then consider yourself extremely blessed. Most of us are not that fortunate, which is why I have no qualms about talking to my kids about the disease. At some point the conversation is inevitable.