"My Mommy Has Cancer"
A book for young children
by Carolyn Stearns Parkinson
Illustrated by Elaine Verstraete

"Mommy's In The Hospital Again"
A book for young children
by Carolyn Stearns Parkinson
Illustrated by Elaine Verstraete

Today, more people are living with cancer with a higher quality of life. Until now, little has been written to help the young child understand parents living with cancer. Most available material deals with death of a parent.

Carolyn's book "My Mommy Has Cancer" helps to teach young children what cancer is and assists parents in explaining this very difficult subject. One mother wrote, "Your book helped us so much in saying the things we couldn't find the words to say." To date, "My Mommy Has Cancer" has helped over 100,000 families.

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Childhood is a wonderful time in one's life. However, when a parent or loved one is stricken with a critical illness (cancer, AIDS, heart disease, mental illness, diabetes, ...), it can become a very frightening time for a child. The child's world is often turned upside down, and feelings of security become threatened.

Books are excellent vehicles that help us start discussions concerning some very important and difficult issues. Children need to understand what is happing to a sick parent or loved one and how their lives are going to be affected. The unknown can be frightening for anyone at any age, but with the imagination of a child, the unknown can become a terrifying experience.

By sharing some family experiences with you in this book, Mommy's In the Hospital Again, to stimulate conversations between you and any young child who needs to understand what is happening in his or her world.

At the end of the story, there is a list of suggestions that you will find useful when trying to help a young child during this difficult time. Some of these suggestions are part of this story and are easily identified as they appear in a different type style.

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