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Pediatric Oncology Branch Home > Pediatric Psycho-Oncology Professionals > Children Whose Parents Have Cancer

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Pediatric Psycho-Oncology Professionals

Children Whose Parents Have Cancer

Programs

• Massachusetts General Hospital’s Marjorie E. Korff PACT Program (Parenting at a Challenging Time)
  Website: http://mghpact.org/home.php
  Founder and Director: Paula K. Rauch, M.D.

Books

• Because Someone I love Has Cancer: Kid's Activity Book, by the American Cancer Society (ISBN # 0944235328) 2002
  • A spiral bound book offering creative activities for children ages 6-12 to encourage the expression of feelings and coping skills as they deal with uncertainty and change. Removable Parent Guide.
    
    
• Hope the Bear, by Lynnette Wilhardt and Barbara Granoff (To purchase contact Kids Konnected at 800-899-2866 or www.kidskonnected.org)
  • This book will take you and your child through the cancer experience and explain the medical and emotional aspects of cancer and its treatment.
    

• How do we tell the children?Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide for Helping Children Two to Teen Cope When Someone Dies, By Schaefer & Lyons(ISBN# 1557044309) 2002
  
  
• How to Help Children Through a Parent’s Serious Illness: Supportive, Practical Advice from a Leading Child Life Specialist, by Kathleen McCue, M.A., C.C.L.S. with Ron Bonn (ISBN # 9780312146191) 1996

• It Helps to Have Friends: When Mom or Dad Has Cancer, by the American Cancer Society (ASIN # B000724IAY) 1987 (To order contact ACS at 800-227-2345)
  • A booklet for grammar school-age children that addresses common fears and the social and emotional aspects children face when a parent has cancer.
    
    
• Psycho-Oncology, Second Edition, edited by Jimmie C. Holland, William S. Breitbart, Paul B. Jacobsen, Marquerite S. Lederberg, Matthew J. Loscalzo, and Ruth McCorkle (ISBN # 9780195367430) 2010
• Chapter 74: Addressing the Needs of Children When a Parent Has Cancer, by Cynthia W. Moore and Paula K. Rauch
• Chapter 75: Psychosocial Research and Practice with Adult Children of Cancer Patients, by Catherine E. Mosher and Talia R. Weiss

• Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick, by Paul K. Rauch, M.D. and Anna C. Muriel, M.D., M.P.H. (ISBN # 0071446818) 2005

• When a Parent has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children, by Wendy S. Harpham (ISBN # 9780060740818) 2004

Reference Articles

• Patterson P, Pearce A, Slawitschka E. (2010). The initial development of an instrument to assess the psychosocial needs and unmet needs of young people who have a parent with cancer: piloting the offspring cancer needs instrument (OCNI). Supportive Care in Cancer. doi: 10.1007/s00520-010-0933-7.
  
  
• Patterson P, Rangganadhan A. (2010). Losing a parent to cancer: a preliminary investigation into the needs of adolescents and young adults. Palliative and Supportive Care. 8., pp. 255-65. doi: 10.1017/S1478951510000052.

Websites

• Family Connections
  http://www.dana-farber.org/Adult-Care/Treatment-and-Support/Patient-and-Family-Support/Family-Connections.aspx

• KIDSCOPE
  www.kidscope.org

KIDSCOPE, INC. is a non-profit organization that aims to help children and families cope with having a family member or loved one with cancer. Ultimately, the organization’s resources allow children to better understanding cancer from their point of view.

• http://www.cancercare.org/publications/22-helping_children_when_a_family_member_has_cancer
  
  
• Sesame Street
  http://www.pbs.org/parents/whenfamiliesgrieve/http://www.cancer.org/treatment/childrenandcancer/helpingchildrenwhenafamilymemberhascancer/index
  
• UNC Cancer Care
  http://www.singlefathersduetocancer.org/gresources.do

Resources for helping children when a family member has cancer.

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