My husband has cancer and my 10 yr old son is struggling. He knows what is going on. Is there support out there for him, to help him and help me to help him please, thank you xx
Hi Mandy, sorry to read about your husband and that your son is struggling.
There is a site called Rip Rap although I believe it's aimed at supporting teenage children who has a parent with Cancer, but I wondered if it might be worth you having a look to see if it suggests strategies for helping you to support your son.
The hospital where your husband has treatment may also be able to suggest or recommend support groups for him. I think there are helpful pages on the CRUK website too that may offer information.
Is your son's school aware of your family circumstances as they may be able to offer him pastoral care and support if he needs it in school.
Hope this helps a little, but hopefully others will be along soon with other suggestions.
I was also recommended to look at Rip Rap although my daughter has not used it. Speak to his school as my daughters were excellent checking that terms subjects to ensure that there was nothing that would be said in class that may upset her and also to ensure all staff were aware so that they would let us know if she was upset whilst there. Our Macmillan nurse also gave us a name of someone who would help my daughter. Sorry not able to give you more than the other post but the main thing we did which seems to have helped is always talk about what was happening even though my initial reaction was to try and shield her as much as possible, but our Macmillan nurse said be careful because then they may overhear and then struggle more. Good luck and our daughter has coped very well after the initial shock so hopefully your son will to.
I see you have already received lots of helpful advice from our members. We do have a page on our website on Talking to Children about Cancer which you can find here. It will help you understand what may be going on in your little one's head at the moment and how you can talk to him about what is going on.
I hope it helps! This forum is also a great place for you to talk to other parents who have been in a similar situation as you. I know there are many here and I hope they will respond soon with some helpful suggestions.
