🧸 Kids' Corner

When Your Brother or Sister Has Chemotherapy

What chemo is

Chemo is short for chemotherapy. It is strong medicine that fights cancer cells.

Chemo goes after cells that grow fast. Cancer cells grow fast. But some healthy cells grow fast too, like hair cells and tummy cells. Chemo bumps into those by mistake. That is why chemo causes side effects.

Why your sibling feels bad

Chemo can make your brother or sister:

very tired
sick to the stomach
not hungry
grumpy or quiet

Some days are better than others. Feeling bad from chemo does not mean the medicine is not working.

Hair

Chemo often makes hair fall out. Hair usually grows back after treatment ends. Sometimes it comes back curlier or a different color. Losing hair does not hurt.

You cannot catch it

Cancer is not catching. Chemo is not catching. You cannot get cancer from hugging, sharing food, or sleeping in the same room.

Germs

It works the other way around. Chemo makes it harder for your sibling's body to fight germs. You can help by:

washing your hands with soap and warm water, especially before eating
using hand gel at the hospital
telling a grown-up when you feel sick
staying away from your sibling when you have a cough, a cold, or a fever

Staying away when you are sick is a way of taking care of them. It is not a punishment.

Feelings you might have

Your sibling may get a lot of attention. Presents. Visitors. Grown-ups at the hospital instead of at your game.

You might feel jealous. Or angry. Or left out. Or sad. Or worried. You might even feel bad for feeling jealous.

All of those feelings are normal. Lots of brothers and sisters feel them. It does not make you a bad person.

It is not your fault

Nobody caused this. Not you. Not something you said, or thought, or wished. Not a fight you had. Cancer is not anybody's fault.

Ways to help, and ways to just be you

You can help by drawing a picture, sending a silly video, or playing a quiet game together.

You also get to be a regular kid. Go to school. See your friends. Play. Argue with your sibling sometimes. That is normal too.

Ask a grown-up

You can ask a parent, a nurse, or a child life specialist or social worker at the hospital. Helping kids with this is their job.

Asking is always okay.