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Your Child Has Been Diagnosed With Cancer. Now What?
What you need to know about a time you wish wasn’t happening
Three years ago, at the age of 15, my daughter Kate was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the neuroendocrine system, which had started in her pancreas and spread to her liver. Cancer is, of course, one of the most terrifying words a parent can hear.
I’d like to share some of our experiences with you and pass on some of the things we’ve learned — a combination of observations and suggestions. If your child was recently diagnosed, hopefully this will give you an idea of what to expect and perhaps save you some much-needed energy. If a friend or family member is going through something similar, maybe some ideas here can help.
There are many kinds of cancer, and many can be very effectively treated.
Cancer is not one disease — it is a category with hundreds of specific illnesses. They are all a bit different, with varied treatments and outcomes. A cancer diagnosis is scary as hell, but it’s important not to immediately jump to the worst conclusions. It will probably take a few weeks to figure out exactly what kind of cancer your child has. After the initial scans or blood work, biopsies will likely be performed to determine the type. Your doctor may not be able to tell you much about specific treatment options until after that.
Do not assume the worst. Some cancers can be kept at bay for a very, very long time with modern targeted therapies. Some can even be cured.
Ask about genetic testing of the tumor.
Cancer can be caused by mutations to a large number of different genes. Some of those mutations can be targeted by specific treatments that are remarkably effective. You won’t know which mutations your child’s tumor has without genetic testing. See if your oncologist thinks it’s worthwhile. If they say no, make sure they have a good reason.
Not all oncologists can effectively treat all kinds of cancer.
If the cancer your child has been diagnosed with is rare, ask the physicians making the diagnosis if a specialist would be…
