Eloah Rocha is a youth counselor who has worked with sick children for over a decade. When a young child is diagnosed with cancer, parents should provide age-appropriate information to address their questions and concerns. For children under 3, explanations should reassure them that medical procedures are not scary and their parents won't abandon them. Preschoolers ages 4-6 can understand more about cancer but worry it is their fault; they need reassurance this is not the case. Preschoolers also fear pain and discomfort from treatment but should be told doctors will help make it hurt less.

1. PRESCHOOLERS AND
CANCER TREATMENT - A
DEVELOPMENTAL
PRIMER
By Eloah Rocha

2. Introduction
 Eloah Rocha, a youth counselor with Los Angeles Children's
Hospital, has more than a decade of experience working with
sick children and their families. Eloah Rocha holds a bachelor
of science in child psychology from Boulder University in
Colorado.
When a young child receives a diagnosis of cancer, parents
may have questions about how much information to reveal. A
key point to remember in these cases is that children are
aware of disturbances to their routine and may have
questions about what is happening to them. Even the
youngest children deserve age-appropriate answers to their
questions.
If the child is three years old or younger, he or she will not be
able to understand even a simple explanation of cancer but
will likely be fearful of an unfamiliar medical procedure.

3. Cancer Treatment
 These children are not able to process information
about such procedures far in advance, but clear and
reassuring explanations can help to ease their fears
shortly before the event. Explanations should include
reassurance that their parents will not abandon them
at the hospital and that they will not be forced to live in
the hospital indefinitely, as these concerns are
extremely common among the youngest patients.
Preschoolers from four to six years old have similar
concerns, but they can understand a bit more about
what cancer is. They often worry that they have
caused their illness and need to hear that this is not
the case.

4. Conclusion
 Children at this age are also intensely fearful about
pain and discomfort, although parents should not say
that a painful procedure will not hurt. Instead, children
should receive honest explanations tempered with
reassurance that doctors help to make things hurt as
little as possible.
To ease a preschooler's journey through treatment,
adults should explain everything that might seem
different or scary. Children primarily need to know that
everyone, from parents to the medical team, is
focused on helping them feel better. And finally, they
very deeply need adults to encourage and validate
their feelings throughout the treatment process.