To Tell or not to Tell; The Childhood Cancer Conundrum: Parental Communication and Information-Seeking

Abstract

Information seeking and good communication have acquired increasing importance in aiding people to cope with cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of their knowledge-seeking behaviour, experience of the communication process and to identify what support and guidance they may have desired. In this study 100 parents of children (6 to 18 years of age) diagnosed with cancer were interviewed. Interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis Parents' narratives revealed the following themes: most did not want nor seek information beyond that volunteered; communicating about the illness was generally limited to physiological and medically related matters, with emotional issues being rarely articulated; parents felt overwhelmed by the emotional experience of their child's illness and expressed the need for psychosocial services. This study concludes that: (i) information is not in every instance a sought after resource; (ii) communication is complex and whilst open communication is generally advocated it is not always desired or required as there may be context related factors that may militate against it; and (iii) psychosocial support could facilitate understanding of the cognitive, social and emotive trajectory associated with childhood cancer.