Book: What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer

From the author of 5-star books What Happens When Someone I Love Has Cancer and What Happens When a Kid Has Cancer comes a book written specifically for the siblings of kids with cancer.

A child's cancer diagnosis affects all members of the family, and there are virtually no resources for siblings. As parents necessarily shift their attention to the ill child, their sibling is left feeling confused, scared, and oftentimes jealous.

As Shani T., Certified Child Life Specialist and founder of childlifemommy.com said, "There’s a serious gap in care for the siblings of cancer patients. To have a resource like this is invaluable."

About the Book

Join Mia and her stuffed giraffe Stuart as they explain the science of cancer and how a loved one's diagnosis and treatment affects a kid's day-to-day life. What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer uses bright and fun illustrations to show how cells can turn into cancer, and helps reduce confusion about how cancer treatment affects the child and their siblings.

"Most of the time we do the same things in the mornings. We wake up. We eat breakfast. (I like apples. Stuart only eats bugs.) ... when something big changes, what we do each day can change too. Stuart wants to know what happens to our days when our brother or sister has cancer."

Aimed at families with kids ages 4 to 10, this method of teaching is based on decades of solid science about how kids learn and cope with the major day-to-day changes that result from issues like cancer. What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer is the perfect book for families that want to recognize the tough emotions that come from having a sibling with cancer. These kids often experience jealousy, guilt, and loneliness, and may feel like no one cares about them.

By creating a routine that kids can see and understand, parents can restore a sense of safety and predictability in their kids' lives, helping them to be more resilient in the face of life's inevitable challenges. What Happens When My Sibling Has Cancer helps families that want to reduce their kids' anxiety surrounding a scary diagnosis. It aims to empower kids with knowledge, which is proven to help kids through traumatic situations.

Meet Mia and Stuart

With her messy pigtails and sunny personality, Mia brings a bit of fun to books about hard topics. Explaining life's toughest stuff to her toy giraffe Stuart, Mia is the star of the What About Me? book series, where she's able to help kids feel safe by explaining exactly what they can expect when faced with big changes.

About the Author

Sara Olsher is the founder of Mighty + Bright, which helps families through hard things like divorce, cancer, and other major changes using visual magnetic calendars. Based on decades of research about emotional intelligence and how to talk to kids so they actually learn, Mighty + Bright's calendars have helped hundreds of families through some of the hardest times in their lives.