What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer: A Book for the Brothers and Sisters of Pediatric Cancer Patients (What About Me? Books)

From the author of 5-star books What Happens When Someone I Love Has Cancer and What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer comes a book written specifically for the siblings of kids with cancer.

A child's cancer diagnosis affects all members of the family, and there are virtually no resources for siblings. As parents necessarily shift their attention to the ill child, their sibling is left feeling confused, scared, and oftentimes jealous and guilty.

As Shani T., a Certified Child Life Specialist, said, "there’s a serious gap in care for the siblings of cancer patients. To have a resource like this is invaluable."

Aimed at families with kids ages 4 to 10, What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer is the perfect book for families that want to recognize the tough emotions that come from having a brother or sister with cancer. These kids often experience jealousy, guilt, and loneliness, and may feel like no one cares about them.

Written with the help of Child Life Specialists, Oncology Social Workers, and families who have been through pediatric cancer, What Happens When my Sibling Has Cancer is used in children’s hospitals globally and distributed by numerous nonprofits. Cancer doesn’t just happen to the patient, and this book aims to explain both the science of cancer and how it will affect a sibling’s day-to-day.

It is also available in Spanish (qué pasa cuando mi hermano(a) tiene cáncer), and can be ordered in bulk (with a low-cost visual treatment calendar) from the publisher.

Open, Honest, and Accessible Language: Kids are way smarter than many adults give them credit for, and they can handle learning the truth about most any situation — as long as it’s presented in a way that makes sense to them. No matter the topic, we can remove fear from the equation by discussing hard things in an age-appropriate way and infusing it with language and illustrations that put kids at ease.

Applies to All Types of Cancers: What Happens When my Sibling Has Cancer explains the science of cancer, and can apply to all types of cancers, such as solid tumors like brain tumors, neuroblastoma, kidney tumors, or malignant bone tumors, or blood cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma.

How Cancer Treatment Will Affect a Child: From a developmental perspective, kids experience life as if the whole world revolves around them. They need to understand that cancer isn’t their fault, that it’s not contagious, and that it’s not their job to fix it. But beyond that, kids want reassurance. Who will pick them up from school? How will playtime happen? Are all these emotions okay to have?

Validation of Feelings: Cancer treatment brings up a whole host of emotions. By shining a light on them, this book validates kids’ experiences and feelings, reassuring them that their emotions are normal and encouraging them to share with a trusted grown-up.

Resource for Caregivers: When there’s no resource to make hard conversations easier, grown-ups are far less likely to have the conversation. This book serves as a method to make conversations about cancer easier, so adults feel comfortable using the word cancer and knowing that their kids will feel empowered, rather than terrified. There’s also a coupon in the back of the book for a free guide to having the conversation and supporting kids ongoing.

Therapeutic and Educational Tool: Used in children’s hospitals across the globe and distributed by numerous nonprofits, What Happens When my Sibling Has Cancer is a go-to book in schools, counseling settings, and support groups. There are no references to God or the afterlife, leaving room for families to have discussions based on their own belief system.