Explaining medical treatment to children

How we can help

When a child needs medical treatment of any kind, it is important that things are explained truthfully in a way that they can understand.

A diagnosis of cancer is daunting for anyone, but for a child, there are so many things that they will not understand. Our booklets for children are designed to provide simple explanations about some of the things that you and your child may be facing. They have been written by medics and peer-reviewed by experts.

Our publications are intended to supplement the advice given by your child’s medical team.

Tips on how to explain things to children

Use simple language.
Try not to avoid the words: cancer, tumour, chemotherapy etc. These are all words that children will hear during their treatment, so it is important to explain things with the words they are likely to hear.
Try to answer their questions as openly and honestly as possible.
If you do not know the answer to a question, it is much better to say you don’t know but that you will try to find out.
Younger children often focus on how their immediate routine may be affected rather than things that may happen in the future. For example, they may ask can if they still have their bedtime story.
Reassure them that nothing they did caused the cancer and that there will always be someone there to look after them.