Making an educated choice with the patient means weighing both their psychological needs and their medical needs. Q. We all realize that the patient with the illness is hit hardest. A. Cancer is a family illness. The stress on the caretaker cannot be understated. Children in the family are very often ensconced in secrecy with parents mistakenly assuming that the illness is hidden from them.
Children usually know something is wrong.
They're told to be quiet and very rarely are told what is happening. That's very scary for a child. And the aging parents are also affected. Their child is dying. They may be in their 70s and their child may be 40, but it's still their child.