One of the questions I dreaded getting asked when I worked as a breast surgeon was ‘How do I tell my children?’ I don’t have children of my own, and I had no idea what to say. My breast care nurses would step in and I would breathe a sigh of relief. Judging from all your questions this week, telling your children you have cancer can be fraught with anxiety, worry, guilt and stress. And that’s the last thing you need when you’re going through breast cancer treatment.

This week’s guest is here to help. Caroline Leek is the founder and director of the FruitFly collective. Caroline’s mission at FruitFly is to help families talk about cancer, death and grief and to support children of any age with the tools they need to help them cope and know they’re not alone, and I’m thrilled she was able to join me - IN PERSON - for this special episode which you can also watch on my Youtube channel. 

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Here are some of the websites Caroline mentioned: 

www.parentingwithcancer.org

www.fruitflycollective.com

www.pipskit.com

Ruth strauss foundation  - for people facing end of life - https://ruthstraussfoundation.com/

Mummys star - https://www.mummysstar.org/

 http://www.riprap.org.uk/ 

You can also book tickets to the Parenting with Cancer conference in May here - (delegates are bothe healthcare professionals and parents)

https://buytickets.at/fruitflycollective/1059526

If you’ve got a question for the show, then please get in touch online or send me a voice note. 

You can find me on social media  -  Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or e-mail me at [email protected] . 

You can also watch this episode! Head to my Youtube channel @DrLizORiordan to see this season’s episodes as they are released and lots of other useful videos full of reliable information. 

AND MY BRAND NEW MONTHLY NEWSLETTER IS HERE! Find out what I’ve been up to and get some useful recommendations by subscribing here 

Another place to find out more about breast cancer is my book ‘The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control’. And if you’re nosey and want to find out more about my life, my memoir  ‘Under The Knife’ - is also available in all good bookshops.