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Support and information resources
Visit the links below to find more support services, online resources and books that can help you talk to your kids about cancer.
Learn more about:
- Support services
- Online cancer information for children
- Online cancer information for teenagers
- General online information
- Books for younger children
- Books for teenagers
- Books for adults
- Books about bereavement, loss and separation
Support services
Beyond Blue supports young people dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental health problems | 1300 224 636 |
Camp Quality provides programs and services to strengthen the wellbeing of children aged 0-15 growing up with cancer | 1300 662 267 |
Cancer Council provides a wide range of support and information services for people affected by cancer | 13 11 20 |
Cancer Hub Camp Quality, Canteen and Redkite are working together to provide Cancer Hub – a digital one-stop shop to help families (with children aged up to 25 years) more easily access practical and emotional suppo | |
Canteen supports young people aged 12-25 affected by their own or a close family member’s cancer diagnosis | 1800 835 932 |
Griefline offers phone and online counselling | 1300 845 745 |
headspace run by the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, provides mental health services to people aged 12-25 | 1800 650 890 |
Kids Helpline offers 24-hour telephone and online counselling for young people aged 5-25 | 1800 55 1800 |
Lifeline offers 24-hour general crisis support | 13 11 14 |
Parenting Through Cancer a joint project from Camp Quality and Canteen, Parenting Through Cancer provides online support for parents affected by cancer | |
ReachOut online support and general information about mental health and wellbeing for young people going through tough times | |
Redkite offers financial, emotional and educational support for people aged up to 18 with cancer, as well as their families and networks | 1800 592 410 |
Ronald McDonald Learning Program provides assessment, therapy and tuition for young people whose education has been disrupted by serious illness | 1300 307 642 |
Young Carers Network provides information and support for people under 25 who care for someone with an illness, disability or mental health issue |
Online cancer information for children
Kids’ Guide to Cancer Camp Quality’s free educational app for children aged 8-13 who have a parent, sibling or other loved one with cancer – answers the common questions kids have about cancer |
Online information for teenagers
Canteen aimed at young people aged 12-25 who are dealing with their own or a close family member’s cancer diagnosis; peer community and discussions as well as access to counselling |
riprap UK site for teenagers who have a parent with cancer |
Stupid Cancer US site for people aged 15-39 who are affected by cancer |
General online information
Cancer Council trustworthy information about cancer by topic and by type; web content and PDFs of Understanding Cancer booklets and fact sheets; links to local programs and services |
Cancer Australia information about cancer, healthy living and clinical best practice from Australian Government cancer control agency |
Children’s Cancer information about many aspects of children’s cancer |
Paediatric Integrated Cancer Service (PICS) information for families when a child is diagnosed with cancer |
American Cancer Society detailed information about cancer types and topics from the largest voluntary health organisation in the US |
Cancer Research UK detailed information about the diagnosis and treatment of different cancer types |
Macmillan Cancer Support information about cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment from the leading UK cancer charity |
Books for younger children
Big Tree is Sick Nathalie Slosse, Rocio Del Moral (illustrator) Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017 | Nowhere Hair (ebook) Sue Glader, Edith Buenen (illustrator) Thousand Words Press, 2010 nowherehair.com |
Cancer Party! Explain Cancer, Chemo and Radiation to Kids in a Totally Non-Scary Way Sara S. Olsher Self-published, 2019 | Under the Love Umbrella Davina Bell, Allison Colpoys (illustrator) Scribe Publications, 2017 |
In My Heart: A book about feelings Jo Witek, Christine Roussey (illustrator) ABRAMS, 2014 | Safina and the Hat Tree Cynthia Hartman, Hayley O’Brien (illustrator) Nomota, 2004 talesforkids.com.au |
Mum’s Purple Scarf Jane Gillard, Janet Croll (illustrator) Busybird Publishing, 2021 mumspurplescarf.com.au |
Books for teenagers
The Fault in Our Stars John Green, Penguin Books, 2014 | My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks Maya Silva and Marc Silva, Sourcebooks, 2013 |
The Honest Truth Dan Gemeinhart, Scholastic Press, 2015 |
Books for adults
Bedtime Story Chloe Hooper Scribner Australia, 2022 | Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent Is Sick Paula K. Rauch and Anna C. Muriel McGraw-Hill Education, 2006 |
Cancer in Our Family: Helping children cope with a parent’s illness (2nd ed.) Sue P. Heiney and Joan F. Hermann American Cancer Society, 2013 |
Books about bereavement, loss and separation
Beginnings and Endings with Lifetimes in Between Bryan Mellonie, Robert Ingpen (illustrator) Penguin, 2005 | The Memory Tree Britta Teckentrup Hachette, 2014 |
The Invisible String Patricia Karst, Joanne Lew-Vriethoff (illustrator) Hachette Children’s Books, 2018 |
The Redkite Book Club has more than 80 books about childhood cancer suitable for a range of readers, from young children to teenagers. You can borrow these books for free.
My family members don’t really understand what it’s like to have cancer thrown at you, but in my support group, I don’t feel like I have to explain.
Sam
→ READ MORE: Cancer words for kids
More resources
Prof Jane Turner AM, International Psycho-Oncology Society President Emeritus,The University of Queensland, QLD; Taylor Baker, Consumer; Dr Ben Britton, Principal Clinical and Health Psychologist, Head of Psychology, Hunter New England Mental Health, NSW; Camp Quality; Dr Lisa Cuddeford, Head of Department, WA Paediatric Palliative Care Service, Perth Children’s Hospital, WA; A/Prof Peter Downie, Head, Paediatric Haematology–Oncology and Director, Children’s Cancer Centre, Monash Children’s Hospital, VIC; Dr Sarah Ellis, Clinical Psychologist, Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, NSW; Malia Emberson-Lafoa’i, Consumer; Kate Fernandez, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Jane Gillard, Consumer; Mary McGowan OAM, International Childhood Cancer Advocate, VIC; Annette Polizois, Senior Social Worker, Women, Family and Emergency Care Team, Royal North Shore Hospital, NSW; Rhondda Rytmeister, Clinical Psychologist, HeadWayHealth (formerly Snr Clinical Psychologist, The Cancer Centre for Children, Westmead, NSW); Nadine Street, Head of Social Work and Social Welfare, HNE Mental Health Service, NSW; Warren Summers, Online Counsellor, Canteen, NSW.
We would also like to thank the health professionals, consumers, organisations and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title, and we are grateful to the parents and young people whose real-life stories have added to the richness and relevance of this book.
We thank and acknowledge Dr Paula K. Rauch, MD, Founder and Director, Marjorie E. Korff PACT (Parenting At a Challenging Time) Program and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, whose research and writing on helping parents talk to their children about cancer was used as source material for this book and has been adapted in several sections: pages 8–11, How children understand cancer; page 22, Answering key questions: Are you going to die?; page 26, Involving the school or preschool; pages 30–31, Hospital visits; and pages 36–37, Encouraging family time. We also thank the American Cancer Society for permission to use and adapt material on pages 8-11 from its book Cancer in Our Family: Helping children cope with a parent’s illness (2013); Macmillan Cancer Support for permission to use its book Talking to Children and Teenagers When an Adult Has Cancer (2013) as a source of information; Jessica Watt, Oncology Social Worker, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, for her contribution on page 20, When another child has cancer; and Diane McGeachy, Hobart Counselling Centre, for contributing material for page 37, Spending one-on-one time.
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.
View all publications or call 13 11 20 for free printed copies.
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