When Boston mom and author Jane Roper’s 5 year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, it turned the family’s world upside down, she blogged on the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute website.
After experiencing both the support and silence of well-meaning friends, Roper developed a list of five tips to share with those wanting to help a family dealing with childhood cancer, such as giving that gift card (it’s not too impersonal), and saying something, anything.
Here is why it’s best not to keep silent, according to Roper.
Some friends kept their distance after they learned of our daughter’s cancer, later telling us that they “didn’t know what to say,” or thought that just sending their thoughts or sympathies wouldn’t be enough given the magnitude of our situation, so it was better to keep silent. This couldn’t have been farther from the truth. We don’t need to be handled with kid gloves just because we’ve got a sick child. If anything, we’re tougher than ever.
Read her five tips on the Dana-Farber blog.
Do you have any tips to add? Tell us on the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation’s Facebook page.