It’s important to talk to kids about family health risks, but what impact will sharing this kind of information have on your child? BRCA gene
It’s probably safe, according to a new study, but how are you supposed to do it — and when?
How children cope with the news
Researchers found that kids generally have no problem coping when cancer risk information is shared with them. But it’s not uncommon for parents to struggle with communicating the news.
So if you are understandably having challenges finding the right time to deliver the news to your child, what should you do?
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“We often tell parents sometimes conversations happen when you least expect them, like in a car ride to a sporting event or a family gathering,” says study co-author Beth Peshkin, director of genetic counseling at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C.
There are also natural opportunities to talk about these serious issues — for instance, around the time of Mom’s annual mammogram. For that reason, it’s important to ask yourself the big questions ahead of time.
“When do you see yourself sharing this info? How would you feel if your kid asked or found out about it around you?” Peshkin shares, adding that it’s important to consider a child’s mental development and to decide whether and what to share on a case-by-case basis.
“Particularly with younger kids, give them a little bit and see if they want more,” she suggests.
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This study included 272 teens and young adults — 76.1% had a mother who had survived breast or ovarian cancer, and 17.3% had mothers who tested positive for the BRCA gene, putting them at risk for those two cancers.
After learning about their mothers’ BRCA status, young people reported relatively low l
