Psychosocial Support Learning that your child has cancer is one of the most devastating experiences conceivable. Parents are shocked that their child has a life-threatening disease. Occasionally, the child is being assessed for an apparently routine reason when the cancer is found.
Many parents feel anger, because they think the diagnosis took too long.
Some feel guilty, blaming themselves for missing possible early warning signs. The medical team will play an important role in alleviating parental concerns. We each deal with diagnosis differently. How we cope with the illness will be based largely on prior experiences in crisis situations. Some parents become overprotective of the sick child.