What you can do if a child in your classroom has cancer

As a teacher, you may have students that have been diagnosed with cancer.  It can be an emotional and stressful time for them and their families but it can also impact you, the students you work with and their studies.  It may be helpful for you to seek support and learn more about their cancer diagnosis and the issues that may be affecting them.  Learning more can help you decide how to best work with this student and their family.

Here are some examples of what you can do next:

Learn more about cancer and cancer treatment options:

• Learn what to expect from your student's diagnosis.  Talk to the parents, the school social worker and the school specialist at the local hospital.  If the child is interested, ask the hospital or a local cancer organization to hold a classroom presentation.
• Go to the People Living With Cancer website (www.plwc.org) to learn about common childhood cancers and how they can impact someone's life.
• Learn about the common issues facing children diagnosed with cancer through Cure Search at www.curesearch.org.

Find resources to support your student and their family:

• Order a free LIVESTRONG Survivorship Notebook for your classroom at www.livestrong.org/notebook in order to learn about the physical, emotional and practical ways cancer impacts someone's life.
• Contact LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare at 866.467.7205 for emotional support, counseling and referrals to local resources.  They can be helpful to you, the family and anyone else affected by cancer.
• Be aware that siblings of the child diagnosed with cancer may be impacted as well. Contact Super Sibs (www.supersibs.org) to learn more about supporting siblings of children with cancer.

Provide support for your students in the classroom:

• Download the book Learning and Living with Cancer: Advocating for your Child's Educational Needs at www.livestrong.org/forprofessionals.  You will learn about the challenges children with cancer may face during and after treatment, laws that protect the educational needs of children with cancer, and specific accommodations you can provide at school. A resource guide is also available that identifies websites, organizations and videos that can help. 
• Attend the Welcome Back: Facilitating the Return to School for Children with Cancer program, a workshop designed to educate school personnel on the cognitive and late effects of childhood cancer treatment to improve the transition of childhood cancer survivors from clinic to classroom. To learn more and to find a training near you, visit  www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
• Provide physical accommodations to aid your student, such as allowing the child to wear a hat or have a locker in a convenient location.
• Teach the appropriate grade level of the LIVESTRONG at School Curriculum (www.livestrong.org/school) to your students to help them learn how they can support each other.

While there are many great resources that exist both on the Internet and in your local library that address cancer-related issues, it can be overwhelming to know where to start.  The suggestions above provide you with a starting point of how to access information and encourage you to learn as much as you can in order to support your students and yourself during what can be a stressful, emotional experience.  Know that the majority of children diagnosed with cancer will lead long healthy lives, and those who are helped to return to school as soon as they are medically able will feel more normal and productive in the short term and will ultimately benefit in the long term.