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GUNIT · April 25th, 2005, 20:20

I'm currently 16 and my Nana has been in and out of the hospital for ages. She had 5 heart attacks and 2 boughts with cancer, starting for me at the age of 4. Her first bought of cancer was when I was 4, it was full blown Colon Cancer and the docs were blastinger her with huge doses of radiation AND chemo. As a young child I don't believe it was very difficult to come to terms with this, but the key is simplifying it and building confidence in your kids. My parents always told me the truth (needless to say very simplified) but the best thing to hear was that Nana was fighting and fighting hard. I think the phrase was "Cancer sure is gonna be sorry after they decided to fight with Nana". I think keeping some humor and having good experiences along the way definitely was great too. Amazingly enough she pulled through just as "Super Nana" said she would and the cancer went into remission for about 8 or 9 years, which puts me at the ripe age of 15 when her second bought with a rare cancer that comes from the aggressive radiation treatment used in the first cancer, unfortunately she passed on about 6 months ago. It was definitely tougher at an older age, and the thing to do with kids in their teens is be completely up front, don't sugar coat it, you just gotta give it to them. I think my parents did the worst thing and held off telling me for awhile which definitely upset me. But anyways, the key is (which everyone else has already said so sorry if I am seeming very repeatful (is that a word?)) to tell them the truth, but simplify it and make it clear and easy to understand. Give your kids encouragement,
TRY (<--operative word here) not to get too down about it yourself. One of the toughest things to watch was seeing my father cry. Remind your kids that their grandmother loves them and would do anything for them. Grandmothers possess an incredible amount of care and love for their grandchildren that is absolutely beyond belief and the things they will do to enjoy time with them is mindblowing.

Best to you and your family, good luck, and my thoughts are with you.

Hope I could help out a little

April 25th, 2005, 20:20	#9
GUNIT Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bahstan, MA Posts: 109	Re: Kids and Cancer Questions I'm currently 16 and my Nana has been in and out of the hospital for ages. She had 5 heart attacks and 2 boughts with cancer, starting for me at the age of 4. Her first bought of cancer was when I was 4, it was full blown Colon Cancer and the docs were blastinger her with huge doses of radiation AND chemo. As a young child I don't believe it was very difficult to come to terms with this, but the key is simplifying it and building confidence in your kids. My parents always told me the truth (needless to say very simplified) but the best thing to hear was that Nana was fighting and fighting hard. I think the phrase was "Cancer sure is gonna be sorry after they decided to fight with Nana". I think keeping some humor and having good experiences along the way definitely was great too. Amazingly enough she pulled through just as "Super Nana" said she would and the cancer went into remission for about 8 or 9 years, which puts me at the ripe age of 15 when her second bought with a rare cancer that comes from the aggressive radiation treatment used in the first cancer, unfortunately she passed on about 6 months ago. It was definitely tougher at an older age, and the thing to do with kids in their teens is be completely up front, don't sugar coat it, you just gotta give it to them. I think my parents did the worst thing and held off telling me for awhile which definitely upset me. But anyways, the key is (which everyone else has already said so sorry if I am seeming very repeatful (is that a word?)) to tell them the truth, but simplify it and make it clear and easy to understand. Give your kids encouragement, TRY (<--operative word here) not to get too down about it yourself. One of the toughest things to watch was seeing my father cry. Remind your kids that their grandmother loves them and would do anything for them. Grandmothers possess an incredible amount of care and love for their grandchildren that is absolutely beyond belief and the things they will do to enjoy time with them is mindblowing. Best to you and your family, good luck, and my thoughts are with you. Hope I could help out a little