Kids and teens face their own unique challenges when dealing with cancer, either their own or a family member’s. They need age-appropriate information to help them understand and cope with their feelings. Although there are some resources for specific cancers that are aimed at kids (and those are listed on the specific cancer page when they’re available), most are more general. We’ve listed some good ones here.
They are divided into resources to help you talk with your kids and understand what they may be thinking and other resources aimed directly at kids to help them learn about cancer and connect with other kids in the same situation.
Just for Kids
Facts & Tips on Cancer: This guide, from eschooltoday, is written in language that’s easy for kids to understand. It includes sections on what is cancer, the different types, treatments and more. There’s also a cancer fact sheet.
Cancer Center on KidsHealth: Although it doesn’t deal specifically with colorectal cancer, this area of the KidsHealth site explains in everyday language what cancer is, treatments, and more. A lot of it is geared towards kids with cancer, but it can still be helpful for understanding cancer in general.
Kids Konnected: This organization helps kids cope with a parent’s cancer diagnosis or the loss of a parent to cancer. Through Kids Konnected, they can talk with other children going through the same thing. If offers camps, support groups and other services.
SuperSibs: This site is aimed specifically at your sick child’s brother or sister. They may have a lot of conflicting emotions (for example, sadness over their sibling’s illness but also anger at the amount of your attention he or she gets). This site can help support them and help them find ways to cope.
Group Loop: This site is specifically for teens. It has information for teens who have cancer themselves and those who know someone with cancer. And since teens are often most comfortable talking with other teens, the online community, teens talk to teens is especially valuable. It lets them connect and share experiences they may not want to talk with anyone else about.
When Your Parent Has Cancer: This guide from MD Anderson can help teens understand your diagnosis, how you’re feeling, what may happen next and how to talk about it. If you live near the center, it offers a support program called CLIMB for children and teens that meets weekly.
Now What: This site, from the Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer, aims to help kids and teens cope with a cancer diagnosis, either their own or a loved one’s. It offers information to help them understand the different types of cancer and treatments, deal with their emotions and still get through day-to-day life. Some of the resources are specific to Australia, but most of the information is relevant no matter where you live. And it’s written in a clear and easy to understand way with lots of useful advice.
SickKids: This Canadian site is divided into sections by age groups (4-7, 8-12 and teens). Each section has age-appropriate activities like craft ideas, support pages to print and write down feelings and more. For teens there also SibSPEAK.org, an online community where they can share and learn with other teen siblings of kids with cancer.
Books for Children: The American Cancer Society offers a list of books aimed at children, to help them cope with a loved one’s (or their own) cancer. Several are written and illustrated by kids who had a parent go through treatment.
Bear Essentials: This site offers a range of activities to help kids aged 4-12 understand cancer and cope with their feelings about their parent’s diagnosis.
Help for Parents
Helping children When a Family Member Has Cancer: This booklet from CancerCare offers advice on talking with your kids at every step of your cancer journey.
How To Talk To Your Kids About Your Cancer: This post on my colon cancer coach is from a colon cancer survivor who had to figure out how to tell her young kids about her diagnosis. Her insights apply to any kind of cancer and may help you.
ACCO Treatment Kit and free books: The American Childhood Cancer Organization offers these free resources to families with a child diagnosed with cancer. Resources you can request to help you and your child get through this stressful time include a treatment kit with a fleece blanket, duffle bag and more. There’s also free books for both parents and kids, including journals for parents and kids to document the journey.
Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis: This page, from Stanford Medicine, offers advice on helping you and your kids cope. The section on children is broken down by age, to help you understand how much your child can understand and how much to tell them.
Help your kids cope with your cancer: This article, from the Dana-Farber Institute blog offers simple advice for planning the conversation and then keeping them in the loop in age-appropriate ways.
Communicating with Children: This page from NOCC offers advice on what to say and a list of other resources you might find helpful.
Talking to children: Another page with advice on how to talk to children about cancer and what to tell them. This one’s from Cancer Research UK.
Why talk to kids about cancer: From the Cancer Council NSW (Australia), this page offers advice on why it’s best to tell your kids about your diagnosis, no matter how hard it may be. Often kids will cope better when you are honest with them than if you hide your diagnosis and they have to guess what’s wrong.