Sessions Adult Cancer 101 People often have preconceived notions about cancer and its treatment. This session will present the most current information on the variety of cancer treatments as well as their side effects. This information will help school personnel gain a greater understanding of the parent's cancer experience. Carolyn M. Kaelin, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., is the director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a surgical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. She is also the author of “Living Through Breast Cancer.” The Real World: Students and Parents Talk The most powerful messages about the experience of having a parent with cancer can be heard from those who have been there. On this panel, students and parents who have experienced this challenge will share their stories and their hard-earned wisdom about how schools can be most supportive to families. The Heart of the Matter: The Child’s Experience The Developmental Impact of Cancer Illness and cancer have different meanings to children depending on their age and stage of development. In this presentation, basic child development will be discussed with an eye to understanding how developmental stage affects what a child understands about the illness of a parent. Common responses, questions and behaviors of each developmental stage will be presented. Kathy Clair-Hayes, LICSW, directs the Take Good Care Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Kathy presents nationally on the topics of parenting during cancer and how clinicians can best support parents. She has also responded to requests, both nationally and internationally, to help replicate the Take Good Care Program. The Child in the Family The diagnosis of cancer in a parent has a profound affect on the family. Changing roles and routines, along with anxiety about the future upset the established norms and create stress. Depending on the age of the children, the effect of this stress can take many different forms. In this presentation, the ways in which cancer and cancer treatment alter family process will be discussed. Stanley J. Berman, Ph.D., is Dean, Programs of Advanced Graduate Study at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wellesley College. Talking to Children About Cancer: Finding the Words Finding the right time, space and language to speak about cancer with children is a challenge that parents and school personnel face. In this presentation, strategies for thinking about this issue will be presented. Considerations of age, family style, needs of children, and setting will be discussed. The nuances of language in our culture and what words are helpful for children to hear and incorporate into their own vocabulary will be addressed. Nancy Borstelmann, MPH, MSW, LICSW is the Director of Patient and Family Support Services at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Care Coordination. In this role, she has oversight for support and psycho-educational groups for patients and their families, the Family Connections Program, and the One-to-One Program, a telephone support network of trained volunteers. Making it Work I: Developing Strategies In this facilitated session, small groups of attendees will meet and discuss how to move from theory to practice in developing a plan. Some questions to be addressed are: How should schools think about the extent of the role that they play; Which members of the staff should be interacting with the child around their parent’s illness and how?; How can the school support the family? Are there community–wide interventions that the school can participate in to support the family? Making it Work II: Implementation in the School Community Once a plan is made, what are the challenges to implementation? The daily routines and pressures of working in the school environment pose obstacles to the most well-intentioned programming. In this facilitated general session, attendees will bring critical points from the smaller group discussions regarding these challenges and ways to overcome them; including procedures and structures needed to follow through with programmatic ideas. |
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