Talking with my Kids about Cancer

This Sunday at church, Cora (our oldest, age 5) made Wikisticks (wax-covered string) into tumors and pretended to remove them from her stuffie. It was adorable, though I hate that my tumor consumes any of her thoughts. Cora has always been interested in how the body works and I'm grateful for resources like "Cancer Party," by Sara Olsher, to make my explanations a little easier to understand. 

From the beginning I told the girls I have a tumor in my breast that needs to come out. I said that sometimes little parts of our body (cells) don't grow like they should and it can make you sick. Cora already knew about surgery in general and asked questions like, "What color is the tumor?" (gray) and "Will you be sleeping at the surgery?" She told me she wants to take care of me when I recover and that I can have whatever I want. "If we don't have something, Dad will go to the store and get it." Smart girl. 💕 It's hard to read what our middle child Maisie (3) understands but I'm not pressing her. 

We'll keep the kids' routines the best we can during my healing from surgery. Answer their questions as they arise. If you have any book recommendations or tips to share, comment below! 

Xx

Lauren