S6 Ep3: Caroline Leek on parenting with cancer

Caroline Leek is the founder of Fruitfly Collective, which empowers people with a cancer diagnosis to navigate family life and to support their children. Caroline set up Fruitfly Collective to give the kind of support she wished she’d had when her own father died when she was 12 years old.

In this episode, Caroline gives helpful tips for explaining cancer to children of all ages, including whether it's OK to use the word "cancer", the importance of getting timing right, and how to talk to a child who refuses to talk about cancer. She also describes the resources available to help with parenting during treatment for breast cancer, such as Fruitfly Collective's parenting coaching programme and the Cancer Cloud Kits designed to help families learn about cancer.

Visit Fruitfly Collective to access the brilliant toolkits and resources discussed in this episode.

We’re Breast Cancer Now, the research and support charity. However you’re experiencing breast cancer, we’re here. For information and support, visit our website breastcancernow.org or phone our free helpline on 0808 800 6000 (UK only).

Every episode is available to watch or listen to on the Breast Cancer Now website. You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:
00:09 Laura's thoughts on the episode ahead
1:18 Caroline describes Fruitfly Collective and its important work
5:22 How losing her dad at a young age affected Caroline
10:30 How Caroline would like to have been supported as a child
11:34 Fruitfly Collective's kits and resources for families
15:22 What's the best way to tell a child about a cancer diagnosis?
21:43 How can you explain to a child what causes cancer?
25:26 Getting the timing right when talking to a child about cancer
26:37 Using the word "cancer" when talking with children
28:15 How to talk to a child who won't talk about cancer
35:25 Helping children cope with the idea of hair loss
39:03 Managing being a parent while going through cancer treatment
44:40 The helpful "box" method of always ensuring there's something nice
47:09 How to prepare a child in case there's an emergency
48:44 The importance of taking care of yourself as well as the child
54:25 What it means to Caroline to live well
55:20 How to access Fruitfly Collective's excellent resources and support