Joanna Breyer - When Your Child Is Sick: A Guide to Navigating the Practical and Emotional Challenges of Caring for a Child Who Is Very Ill

Praise for When Your Child Is Sick

Joanna Breyers compassionate, informative, and clear-eyed guide lights the way for parents of children with cancer. Drawing upon her twenty years as a pediatric psychologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Ms. Breyer describes the many situations such a parent might face and considers the various ways a parent might respond to a childs illness. In so doing, she provides comfort during a confusing, shocking, and despairing time. Joanna Breyers counsel for parents who have lost a childthat the death of a child is nearly unbearable, but that they will survive and emerge strongeris exactly on point, as I know all too well. This is a handbook for life events we dont ever want to consider. I am grateful that Joanna Breyer has considered them so thoughtfully.

Nancy Goodman, founder and executive director, Kids v Cancer

Based on her extensive experience helping children with cancer and serious illnesses and their families, Dr. Breyer has written this comprehensive, innovative, and useful book. She describes, in detail, the trajectory of serious illness in children and the stressors that they and their families face. Using examples from her own practice as well as from others clinical and research work, Dr. Breyer provides a wealth of practical and effective strategies to help them cope during and after treatment and when treatment fails. Not a one-size-fits-all approach, she emphasizes the role of individual differences, experiences, styles, personalities, and preferences. In addition, there is a listing of various resources to help parents navigate treatment and living with childhood cancer. When a child is diagnosed with a serious medical condition, parents often tell us that there is no roadmap or guidebook to tell them what to expect and how best to help their childthis is that book.

Mary Jo Kupst, Ph.D., emerita professor of pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin

Joanna Breyer balances profound compassion with pragmatism to provide an extraordinarily valuable guide to the management and care of sick children. By using real examples and clinical vignettes, Breyer pierces through some the most difficult barriers in medicine, and helps us navigate through complex and forbidding landscapes. Written in the spirit of Jimmie Holland, the pioneering psychiatrist who studied the minds of cancer patients, Breyers book focuses its attention on children with cancer and other illnesses. This book should be compulsory reading for anyone facing these terrifying conundrums and life-altering decisions.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction, and The Laws of Medicine, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University

When Your Child Is Sick is a wonder. Though Ive known and admired Dr. Breyer throughout her tenure at Dana-Farber/Boston Childrens, I stand in awe at how comprehensive this book is in guiding parents through maintaining confidence and alleviating fear during what can be an extremely challenging experience. Breyer is a former senior member of a team of experts that has vast experience with helping families trapped in the crisis of profound childhood illness. A great clinician, she is above all an inspired teacher who provides a treasure trove of advice for those facing the greatest fear parents havethat of losing a child.

David G. Nathan, president emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, physician-in-chief emeritus, Boston Childrens Hospital, Robert A. Stranahan Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

This is definitely the book to read if you have a sick child. The author helps families navigate the complex course of pediatric illness by describing evidence-based psychological interventions that alleviate suffering in the patient and his family. This book is also an excellent guide for pediatric medical staff, who will learn working tools that improve the quality of their work and the quality of their patients lives. I recommend it without hesitation and wish Id had it earlier in my professional career.

Maria Die Trill, Ph.D., president, International Psycho-Oncology Society

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Copyright 2018 by Joanna Breyer

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Breyer, Joanna.

Title: When your child is sick : a guide to navigating the practical and emotional challenges of caring for a child who is very ill / Joanna Breyer, PhD.

Description: New York, New York : A Tarcher Perigee Book, [2018] | Identifiers: LCCN 2018013195 (print) | LCCN 2018013240 (ebook) | ISBN 9780698407008 (e-book) | ISBN 9780147517586 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Sick childrenCare. | ChildrenDiseases. | Parent and childPsychological aspects. | BISAC: HEALTH & FITNESS / Diseases / Cancer. | HEALTH & FITNESS / Diseases / General.

Classification: LCC RJ61 (ebook) | LCC RJ61 .B818 2018 (print) | DDC 618.92dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018013195

Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

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This book is dedicated to the many extraordinary children and families I have worked with over the years who taught me more than I can say about love, death, healing, and resilience.