Child Life Specialist Lindsay Carrick joins Chris and Christy on The Lighthouse Podcast again this week, taking a deeper dive into an important topic when it comes to childhood cancer: communication. How do you talk to a child about their cancer diagnosis? Lindsay walks us through the steps she takes as a CLS, from working with the parents, to making the tough conversations age- and developmentally appropriate, and even bringing in hands-on activities to help kids understand what is happening. She shares the importance of being "optimistically honest" with kids about their diagnosis to prevent kids from filling in the gaps of what they know with false information, and also how to talk to siblings and peers about the changes they see in the child on treatment. Chris asks Lindsay about how to preemptively address kids' fears, and they wrap up the conversation talking about end-of-life decisions and the role a CLS might take in helping families establish their child's legacy.
