Helping Children with Cancer Feel Understood CANSA partnered with the Hollard Insurance Group to release stories in short booklet form, to encourage children fighting cancer. Read more: https://cansa.org.za/helping-children-with-cancer-feel-understood/

1. How does
it hurt today?

2. Penny and Piet sometimes cry when
they feel sore. They are still small.
This makes it difficult to explain to
adults where their pain is.

3. The pain is sometimes in Penny’s chest.
Other times it may be in her arm.
Sometimes it feels like the pain is all over
their body. This also happens to Piet.

4. It is easier for Penny and Piet to use a
picture to show where their pain is.
The doctors told them that some pain
may take a bit longer to go away.
They also learned to point to pictures of
a face to show how bad their pain was.

5. When they feel better, they can point to
another picture of a face. This is how they
can show if the pain is better or worse.
When they do not feel sore, Penny and
Piet have even bigger smiles than the
picture of the smiling face!
No pain! Mode
I’m uncom

6. These pictures help kids to show
the doctors, nurses and their family
when they do not feel well.
They know that if they can point to where
the pain is, the doctors or parents can help
them to make it feel a bit better.
1
0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No pain Mild Moderate Severe Very
severe
Worst
pain
possible
=
No Pain
=
A little
pain
=
I’m
uncomfortable
=
The pain
makes
me sad
=
Ow!
The pain
is bad
=
The pain
is too
much for me
Pain Measurement Scale

7. They also learned how important it is
not to skip the medicine the doctors
gave them to use at home.
The pain runs away and hides if they use their
medicine properly! They are happy that the
pictures help them explain how they feel,
you need to tell people too!

8. How can CANSA TLC Help?
Visit us at www.cansa.org.za. Call us Toll-free on 0800 22 66 22 for
free Tele-counselling for children living with cancer, their parents,
siblings and caregivers. CANSA will call you back. WhatsApp us on
072 197 9305 (English and Afrikaans) and 071 867 3530 (isiXhosa,
isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho and Setswana).
Join our closed Facebook group for parents and caregivers -
CANSA TLC – Childhood Cancer Support. #CANSATLC #CANSACares