Cancer can be tough to explain to kids, but child life specialists can help patients and their families communicate difficult details with care, clarity and understanding. “Children are parts of families, and so in order to treat our patients holistically we need to be able to talk to kids to explain what's going on,” says Brianna Wall, a child life specialist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). “That helps our patients mitigate some of their anxieties.” Wall and her colleagues work directly with Ohio State patients and their families to help young kids and teens deal with several cancer-related issues, including: ·      Understanding cancer diagnoses ·      Feeling comfortable asking questions about cancer and treatment ·      Developing coping skills ·      Dealing with feelings of helplessness ·      Navigating hospitals ·      Processing grief and/or fear of loss Read on as Wall shares some tips you can use to help children in your life after a cancer diagnosis in the family. Be open and honest about cancer with kids “Talking to kids with open, honest and developmentally-appropriate communication is crucial. Kids have incredible imaginations, and they can start to make up things in their minds that maybe aren't as bad as reality, or are misconceptions. Sometimes, teenagers will take their questions and curiosities to the internet, which can result in misinformation. So, though parents sometimes try to shield their kids from the realities of cancer, that can lead to more anxiety and might cause kids to have exacerbated ideas of what's really going on.” Click here to learn more about child life specialist services for cancer patients at The Ohio State University. What to know about a child before talking to them about cancer “Some of the key considerations that we think about when we're sharing medical information with kids are: How old are they? What do they already know? What are their developmental needs? Is there any neurodivergence? “We're also wanting to know how they usually cope with hard information and if they like to seek out information, or do they try to avoid it? We want to know their temperaments and what to expect if they're having hard times so that we can look for some of those behaviors or cues. We take all that information into consideration when we're trying to figure out the best way to reach children.” Choose the right time to talk to kids about cancer, but be ready to answer questions “A lot of families will want to wait until they find out a definite plan of care before they share information about cancer with children. That’s okay, but we also want to emphasize that it's okay to tell your child that you don't know, and that when you know you will fill them in and answer their questions, worries or concerns. If you don't know the answers to those, you can ask your doctor or your care team.” How child life specialists can help prepare kids for family members’ cancer treatment “We will prepare kids using sample medical equipment to help expose them to what they're going to see. We'll also use dolls to talk about feeding tubes and validate that this might look a little bit different, but all this equipment helps. We also take actual photos of the patients with their new medical equipment inside their hospital rooms, so that children can see and maybe have emotional reaction before they're face to face in that room. That gives kids opportunities to ask questions and for us to give detailed explanations as to what it might feel like.” Click here to learn about JamesCare for Life support programs for cancer patients at the OSUCCC – James.