"Telling Children the Parent's Cancer": A Specific Intervention to Enhance the Communication Inside Family

• Published in: Psycho-oncology (Chichester, England) Vol. 23; p. 136
• Main Authors: Gallina, Francesca, Mazza, Umberto, Nichelli, Francesca, Jankovic, Momcilo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2014
• Subjects: Cancer; Emotional disorders; Families & family life; Interpersonal communication; Pediatrics; Psychologists
• ISSN: 1057-9249; 1099-1611

Aims of this intervention, realized in a hospital setting, are: a) to communicate to the children or to improve their knowledge about parent's cancer and its treatment; b) to facilitate children coping with the illness; c) to enhance parent's competence and communication inside family about cancer- related concerns. The project, addressed to inpatients and outpatients with cancer having children aged below 18 years, is the result of the collaboration of different specialists. First phase of intervention: parents session where the psychologist explain the project and is informed about family assessment with specific attention to the children's characteristics. Second phase: the pediatric hemato-oncologist, in presence of the psychologist, meet children in an individual session (without parents present) to describe with the support of images and metaphors, the parent's cancer and its treatment, exploring children's concerns and fear about the illness and understanding their needs. Third phase: the contents of the individual session are later shared with the parents in a family session to stimulate an open communication. The fourth phase is characterized by parents counseling sessions to monitor or increase the parental competence. Further individual sessions with children can be structured in presence of critical condition (e.g. illness' progression and parent's death) So far 18 families (24 children, age range 4-17 years) were included in the program and it is under preparation a questionnaire for a qualitative evaluation of the intervention. Family satisfaction should be evaluated. It is well known that children of severely ill parents can develop emotional and behavioral problems. Some studies focused on the efficacy on an open communication with children about the parent's illness to reduce distress. Which is the most appropriate methodology to get this result? Parents with cancer struggle to tell their children about their illness and their sense of competence to support children usually declines. Support and methodology for an open communication inside the family about cancer diagnosis of one parent should be acknowledged as an important aspect of oncology care and as mechanism for reducing family stress. Communication is the key for starting at the best a comprehension about what is happening inside a family. Children must be informed but how to do it is still a big deal and a great challenge. The knowledge of an appropriate methodology helps clinician in making personal modification to implement the relationship with the child avoiding intrusive action. This research has no funding source.