{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"When a Parent Has Cancer: What Kids Understand Before We Say It","description":"What happens when your child already senses something life-changing\u2014before anyone has found the words to say it out loud? When serious illness enters a family, children often understand more than we realize. And for caregivers, the challenge becomes not only navigating medical decisions, but also finding the right way to support their children through it all. This week, Katie sits down with Anna Lonon, founder of the Lonon Foundation, to share her family\u2019s story of navigating cancer when her husband Michael was diagnosed with stage three head and neck cancer at just 29 years old. While raising a young son and later welcoming a newborn daughter, Anna faced the unimaginable reality of caregiving, loss, and parenting through profound uncertainty. Anna opens up about what it looked like to balance hospital visits, therapies, and daily life, and the emotional toll of making impossible decisions while trying to hold her family together. She shares powerful moments, including the realization that her young son understood far more about his father\u2019s illness than anyone had explained, and how that shaped the way she approached communication in the years that followed. After later facing her own cancer diagnosis, Anna made a different choice\u2014seeking out child life support early to guide honest, developmentally appropriate conversations with her children. Through her experiences, she highlights the importance of listening to children\u2019s cues, trusting your instincts as a parent, and creating space for both grief and resilience. If you\u2019ve ever struggled with how to talk to your child about illness, felt overwhelmed as a caregiver, or wondered how to support your family through uncertainty, this conversation offers validation, insight, and hope. This episode is sponsored by Gebauer PainEase\u00ae. We extend our sincere gratitude to Gebauer PainEase\u00ae for supporting this episode. To learn more about this product, visit their website. Resources from today's episode: Visit the Lonon Foundation website Pickles Group Wonders & Worries Connect with Us Subscribe: Never miss an episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Visit insidethechildrenshospital.com to search stories and episodes easily Follow us on Instagram for updates and opportunities to connect with other parents Download SupportSpot: receive Child Life tools at your fingertips. Leave a Review: It helps other families find us and access our resources! Medical information provided is not a substitute for professional advice\u2014please consult your care team.   Keywords: parent cancer child support, talking to kids about cancer, caregiver mental load, parenting through illness, child life specialist support, family coping with cancer, grief and parenting, pediatric emotional support, supporting children through loss, caregiver burnout, trauma-informed parenting, childhood understanding of illness, cancer impact on families   ","author_name":"Inside the Children's Hospital","author_url":"http:\/\/insidethechildrenshospital.com","html":"