Caroline Leek is the founder of Fruitfly Collective, which empowers people with a cancer diagnosis to navigate family life and to support their children. Caroline set up Fruitfly Collective to give the kind of support she wished she’d had when her own father died when she was 12 years old.

In this episode, Caroline focuses on talking to children and teenagers about death and grief, and how to communicate with children about being diagnosed with incurable cancer. She talks about strategies for communicating with teenagers, discusses whether it's OK to tell a white lie, and shares helpful tips and prompts to help children with death and grief.

Find out more about Fruitfly Collective.

Listen to Caroline's previous episode about parenting with cancer, or watch on YouTube.

If you'd like to find out more about Breast Cancer Now's support services, visit the Breast Cancer Now website or phone our free helpline on 0808 800 6000 (UK only).

You can subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every episode is available to watch or listen to on the Breast Cancer Now website. You can also watch it on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:16 Laura outlines the episode and shares her thoughts

2:40 When a child visits a parent who is dying

7:06 How to have a conversation with a child about an upcoming death

9:42 How honest should you be when a child asks if you're going to die?

14:10 Ways of starting a conversation with a child about the death of their parent

25:54 Caroline reveals how her unprocessed grief came to light

27:55 The tools Caroline used to process her grief and support her mental health

31:15 "Pip" kits from Fruitfly Collective

39:39 How to access Fruitfly Collective's excellent resources and support

Links:

Griefcast

Kids' Guide to Cancer app