+612 9045 4394
Paperback
Published: 21st September 2004
ISBN: 9780060740818
Number Of Pages: 240
At some point in our lives, many of us will face the crisis of an unexpected illness. For parents, the fear, anxiety and confusion resulting from a cancer diagnosis can be particularly devastating.
"When A Parent Has Cancer" is a book for families written from the heart of experience. A mother, physician, and cancer survivor, Dr Wendy Harpham offers clear, direct, and sympathetic advice for parents challenged with the task of raising normal, healthy children while they struggle with a potentially life-threatening disease.
Dr Harpham lays the groundwork of her book with specific plans for helping children through the upheaval of a parent's diagnosis and treatment, remission and recovery, and if necessary, confronting the possibility of death. She emphasises the importance of being honest with children about the gravity of the illness, while assuring them that their basic needs will always be met.
Included is "Becky and the Worry Cup," an illustrated children's book that tells the story of a seven-year-old girl's experiences with her mother's cancer.
| Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
| Important Message to Parents, Friends, and Extended Family | p. xvii |
| Prologue: Our Story | p. xxi |
| How to Use Becky and the Worry Cup | p. xxxiii |
| Meeting Your Children's Fundamental Needs | p. 1 |
| Turning Problems into Strengths | p. 1 |
| Establishing Open Communication | p. 4 |
| Understanding Children's Fundamental Needs | p. 5 |
| Telling the Truth | p. 7 |
| When Advice from Others Seems Intrusive or Annoying | p. 10 |
| Perfect Parenting Is an Illusion | p. 13 |
| Caring for Your Children Through the Crisis of a New Diagnosis | p. 15 |
| Breaking the News | p. 15 |
| Teaching Children That Cancer Is Not Contagious | p. 19 |
| Preparing Children for Changes in a Life-Enhancing Way | p. 21 |
| Empowering Children | p. 25 |
| Caring for Your Children Beyond the First Few Weeks | p. 29 |
| Learning to Recognize Choices That Are "None of the Above" | p. 29 |
| Helping Children Through Unpleasant Changes | p. 31 |
| Sorting Out Priorities | p. 33 |
| Creating an "Energy Bank Account" | p. 35 |
| When Children's Needs Are Not Met | p. 36 |
| Knowing How Much Detail to Tell Children | p. 37 |
| Providing a Framework for Dealing with the Changes | p. 40 |
| Children Experience Stress Differently Than Adults | p. 42 |
| Understanding Children's Questions | p. 47 |
| Protecting Children's Need for Normalcy | p. 48 |
| When Cancer Seems to Be the Only Focus of Attention | p. 49 |
| Handling the Crises | p. 52 |
| Family Meetings | p. 54 |
| Doing What Feels Right for Your Family | p. 56 |
| Grief, Fear, and Children's Other Emotions | p. 59 |
| Dealing with Loss and Grief | p. 59 |
| Dealing with Fear | p. 62 |
| Helping Children Work through Negative Emotions | p. 65 |
| After a Bad Day | p. 70 |
| Using Play as a Therapeutic Tool | p. 71 |
| When Laughter Can Be Healing Medicine | p. 72 |
| Dealing with Regression and Failure | p. 73 |
| Knowing Whether Children Are Doing OK | p. 76 |
| Helping Your Children Live with Uncertainty and Tame Their Fear of Death | p. 79 |
| Dealing with Uncertainty and Faith | p. 79 |
| Dealing with the Possibility of Recurrent Cancer | p. 82 |
| Helping Children Face Their Fear of Death | p. 85 |
| Knowing If You Are Dying Now | p. 87 |
| Understanding Children's Conception of Death | p. 88 |
| Breaking the News of a Poor Prognosis | p. 89 |
| Matching Your Degree of Optimism with the Facts | p. 94 |
| Preparing Children for Your Death | p. 96 |
| Family Members with Special Needs: Teenagers, Single Parents, the Well Spouse | p. 101 |
| Caring for Teenagers | p. 101 |
| Understanding Issues Common to Teens and Youngsters | p. 101 |
| Understanding Issues Common to Teens and Adults | p. 104 |
| Helping Teens Stay Connected to Their Friends | p. 106 |
| Understanding Issues Unique to Teens: Drugs, Alcohol, Sexuality, and Dangerous Behaviors | p. 108 |
| Helping Teens Sort Out Conflicting Loyalties | p. 111 |
| Teens and Finances | p. 113 |
| Caring for Children in a Single-Parent Home or When the Parents' Marriage Is Unstable | p. 114 |
| Unstable Marriages | p. 114 |
| Special Issues of Single-Parent Homes | p. 116 |
| Caring for the Well Spouse | p. 119 |
| Taking Care of You | p. 129 |
| Caring for the Children When Cancer Recurs or Becomes a Chronic Disease | p. 139 |
| Facing Recurrence-the Patient | p. 140 |
| Facing Recurrence-the Well Spouse | p. 143 |
| Facing Recurrence-the Children | p. 146 |
| The Truth Pact | p. 150 |
| Your Children's Needs This Time Around | p. 152 |
| Living with Chronic Cancer | p. 154 |
| Creating a "New Normal" | p. 156 |
| Problems: Cancer-Related or Other-Related? | p. 157 |
| Choosing Your Battles | p. 158 |
| Avoiding Pity | p. 158 |
| Expecting vs. Hoping | p. 161 |
| Rituals and Routines | p. 163 |
| Finding Joy | p. 164 |
| Preventing Burnout | p. 165 |
| Conclusion | p. 171 |
| Major Stages of Growth and Development | p. 175 |
| Glossary for Kids | p. 179 |
| Resources for Parents and Children | p. 189 |
| Annotated Bibliography | p. 195 |
| Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780060740818
ISBN-10: 0060740817
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 240
Published: 21st September 2004
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 22.2 x 15.7
x 1.9
Weight (kg): 0.33
