We told Kaylee, our 9-year-old daughter, about my breast cancer so she would understand that I would be having surgery. But, now that it is getting close to time for chemo treatments, it was time to tell her a little more.
I sat down on the couch with her and read her a book called "Our Mommy has Cancer" that was given to me by the American Cancer Society. It explains, in kid terms, about chemo and radiation. It also talks about hair loss. Things were going well until we got to this part. Her eyes went big as saucers and she was mortified at the thought of Mommy being bald! So, I tried to make it sound fun and tell her that I had a wig to wear and might get some cool hats too! She sweetly offered to loan me some of her very own "cool" hats including the one that is entirely made of sequins! I thanked her, of course, thinking that I might look better bald than as a disco ball!
She had some questions that we tried to honestly answer. She wanted to know if it was okay if she took the book to school and if she told anyone about it. I assured her it was not a secret and she could do whatever makes her feel best about it.
She came home from school with a card that she made full of rainbows and happy, smiling suns. She wrote "Mommy, I'm deeply sorry for your cancer. I hope you get well soon and good luck!"
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