When Your Child Has Cancer

Abstract

The overall objective of the present research was to obtain information about the home health care work that parents complete when their children have been diagnosed with cancer. The authors specifically examined factors that affect mothers' abilities to cope after the diagnosis. The interviews, completed with 25 mothers whose children had been diagnosed with cancer within the previous five-year period, were designed to allow the women to share their experiences with childhood cancer. From this process, the mothers identified many salient issues, one of which was coping and factors that affected their ability to cope. The coping subthemes identified included (1) feelings of adversity, anger, and despondency, (2) religion, faith, and God, (3) taking control, (4) gender and marital issues, (5) taking care of self, and (6) positive outlook, facing reality, and normalcy. The research provided mothers with a “voice” by allowing them to express their stories and experiences about having a child with cancer or, more particularly, about salient issues surrounding coping. To prepare for the immediate needs of women with chronically ill children and the needs of their families and their ill children, it is essential for policy makers to obtain more information about the women's workloads.