Communicating about Parental Cancer with Minor Children: Necessity, Burden, and Issues from a Parent's Perspective

Background In addition to coping with their own stresses, parents of minor children with cancer face the difficult task of communicating the diagnosis and its effects to their children. The aim of this study is to examine parents' perceptions of conversations with their children and to identify key topics for psychosocial support. Methods Using a questionnaire, N=82 cancer patients with N=162 minor children were asked about their experiences when talking to their children about the disease. Results Communication about the disease was perceived as necessary by most parents. This was especially the case for older children. With 143 out of 162 children (88.3%), the conversation was held. Of the 82 parents interviewed, 16.5% felt no burden as a result of the talks, 15.2% reported a very high burden. The feeling of not being able to protect the children was perceived as particularly stressful.Discussion Most parents consider communication with the children to be important and seek it. However, many find this difficult, e. g. because they actually want to protect their children. Additional stress can be caused by questions from the children to which the parents cannot give an answer. Conclusion Psychosocial support can be helpful here. Experiences discussed by parents can help other parents in similar situations.

Automated summary

This study examined parents' perceptions of conversations with their children about cancer and identified key topics for psychosocial support. Most parents felt that communication with their children about the disease was necessary but found it difficult due to a desire to protect their children. Additional stress was caused by questions from children that parents could not answer. Psychosocial support can be helpful in these situations.