1

When My Sibling Has Cancer

A Therapeutic Coping Book for Siblings of Pediatric Cancer Patients

Created by: Kara McGregor

Child Life Intern

Loma Linda University: Fall 2013

_

2

My Story…When I hear the word, hospital, I think of

My sibling has cancer. Their name is:

They are important to me because:

When I found out that _______________________ had cancer, I felt: (circle the emotion you felt strongest)

Happy Sad Angry confused scared

My sibling is sick with:

To me, the word cancer means:

Fun Facts About My Body

Our bodies are made up of cells. Cells help our body to grow. With the help of an adult, make a list of things on your body that grow and change with you:

There are different types of cells that

everyone needs in order for their body to work.

Some of the cells that our body needs are blood

cells, hair cells, cells for our eyes and skin cells.

Every cell has a different job. When someone gets

cancer, certain cells stop doing their job and begin

to grow too fast.

3

Cancer is a collection of _____________________________ cells that grow together in the body. (answer= bad )

The type of cancer that my sibling has is called

Different Types of Cancers

Leukemia: Cancer of the white blood cells.. happens when: baby white blood cells multiply and begin to overtake the body, crowding the bone barrow and blood, leaving no room for red or white blood cells or platelets. These baby white blood cells are called blasts and begin to attack our body.

Neuroblastoma: when cells called neuroblasts fail to do their job. Instead of sending and receiving messages throughout the body, these baby cells begin to grow and form clusters called tumors, attaching themselves to different parts of our body, such as our skin, bones and kidneys. These tumors make it hard for the different body parts to do their jobs.

Lymphoma: when sick baby white blood cells called “lymphocytes” grow too fast, overtaking our body and lymph system

Wilms Tumor: when baby kidney cells stop doing their job and instead form clusters inside the kidney, called tumors, making difficult for the kidneys to do their job.

Osteosarcoma: happens when young cells called “osteoblasts” stop doing their job and begin to grow too fast, creating clusters called “tumors” inside our bones.

4

What is Cancer?

Brain Tumor: when sick cells form clusters in our brain, called tumors, making it difficult for the brain to do its job.

Helpful Facts About Cancer

• You can’t “catch” cancer by kissing or hugging your sibling who is sick

• The doctors plan is to destroy the cancer by giving your sibling chemotherapy

• Your sibling did not get cancer because they were bad or because of anything they did

• Your sibling will be seeing the doctor more often, and may spend the night away from

home at the hospital to get the medicine he/she needs to get better, and or if your sibling

gets a fever and becomes sick.

• Because chemotherapy destroys bad cells and healthy cells, your siblings immune

system (the part that fights off infections) will become weaker. Your sibling will have to

stay away from crowds of people, for example: at stores, malls, and school. So your

sibling will get to do school at home with a teacher for a while until their immune system

becomes stronger again, once the chemo treatment is finished.

• You may notice that your sibling might start to slowly lose some or all of their hair. This

5

is because the chemotherapy medicine is doing its job; destroying the cells —bad and

good. Your hair is a cell too! But don’t worry, your sibling’s hair will grow back as soon as

the chemo treatment is finished.

• While your sibling is receiving chemotherapy, she may feel: extra tired than usual, sick

to her stomach, or sad and she may not feel like wanting to play. But that’s not her fault

or your fault. It’s the medicine causing her to feel this way. And other days she may feel

happy, excited, and wanting to play with you. This is when she is feeling good. So if

your sibling is having a not so good day and does not want to play, maybe you can draw

her a picture, write her a letter to help cheer her up, or ask how you can help. Don’t

worry, she will be feeling back to her normal self again soon.

• Your parents will need to spend a lot of time helping to take care of your sibling, but

remember, YOU are important to your parents and your sibling too. You are a Super

Sibling!!

Draw a Picture of What You Think Cancer Looks Like..

6

My life at home before my sibling got cancer…(Draw a picture of it below)

7

How my life has changed now that my sibling has cancer…. (Draw a picture of it below)

8

9

When I have free time I like to…

I am good at….

All About Me

Things that help when I am sad or upset …

Feelings…

10

When I grow up I want to be…

Feelings can look and feel very different from one day to the next. When our life changes, so to can our feelings. Feelings are sometimes like the ocean, one moment we can feel like a still

wave or become angry like a roaring tidal wave

Draw different faces showing how you are

Feelings are important and can often tell us what we need:

I feel sad when

I feel mad when

I feel happy when

I feel lonely when

I feel safest when

11

A Bird is only as strong as the nest it rests in. List the people in your life who love and support you:

12

Hot TopicThis activity is meant to be a fun way for you and your

siblings to learn about cancer and talk about all the changes in your life. Everyone needs to pick up at least two tickets and write either a question or concern they

have on it. You can write your name on the back or leave it blank. Then drop all the tickets into a hat or jar and

have one person draw a ticket. Read the ticket aloud or give it to the nearest adult. It is your job to discuss it with

your siblings and the adult who is with you.

13

14

Mad Lib WorksheetHospital Adventures…Directions: fill in each blank with a word of your choice

Once upon a time there was a family that took a trip to the hospital. Upon arriving they met a (adjective) giraffe named George. This family came to visit (noun) who was getting (adjective) chemotherapy. Anybody who drank the chemotherapy could fly like a (noun). After taking chemo, music began to fill the air, and the entire family began to (verb) like movie stars. The family also met lots of important people. The doctor and nurses talked like

( noun). They were all very friendly. Later on, the family played a (adjective) game of hide and seek. The kids

15

Adjective: a word that describes a person or thing Noun: a person, place or thingVerb: an action word

(adverb) like lightning, hoping to vanish into thin air. Before long the clock struck midnight, and it was time to go home. The (adjective) day was over, but what fun it had been!

What Have I Learned About Cancer?

Directions: Below each question, circle the best answer. If you need help, look back on pages 5 or 6 for the answers.

I can “catch” cancer by kissing or hugging my sibling who is sick. (circle your best guess)

true false

The doctors plan to destroy the

cancer by giving my sibling

a. chemotherapyb. water

c. candy

Cancer Word Search

16

P V Y M S C C S H QA L J L A N K L O YD T A N I G X L S XT R C Y N M Q E P BK E Q N R T A C I OR R O T C O D F T BE P Z D B P O Y A DL T C H F S M M L QI J W P E A R F K EP L B T U M O R P V

Directions: circle the following words in the puzzle below: cancer, family, tumor, cells, hospital, doctor, playroom

I Wish… I Can…

I Will..

17

I Wish….

I can…

I will…

Directions: In each box list the things you would wish for, the things you can do right now, and things you will do in the future.

I wish..

18