Introduction: Childhood cancer is a prominent health issue, targeting particularly low-income and middle-income countries. The affected children are one of the most vulnerable populations due to their age and to the aggressive treatment. In recent years, medicine has progressed significantly and children's mortality has declined with this diagnosis, but still every fifth is still dead despite the progress. Thereafter, the family is faced with extensive physical, mental, social, and spiritual challenges. Cancer diagnosis often leads to anguish accompanying worries about progression of the disease or relapse thereof. Therefore, communication of nurses is of key importance in treatment. With it, we can achieve that the child and the family are more likely to face a diagnosis, which also contributes to the treatment of this. Purpose: The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis is to present the role of a nurse in helping parents to process their child’s diagnosis, as well as to demonstrate the importance of effective communication, and the characteristics and techniques of therapeutic communication. Methods: In the thesis the descriptive research method has been used in reviewing Slovene and foreign literature – scientific as well as technical publications have been reviewed. The range of publication dates has been limited to the years from 2005 to 2018 and also from the year 1998. Databases CHINAL, PubMed, COBISS, Medline, and Cochrane Library have been used in the search of literary sources. Results: Mastering various techniques of therapeutic communication allows the nurse to become a part of the child’s and their parents’ environment, and to develop a therapeutic relationship. The use of the techniques depends on the child’s needs, the level of trust, the child’s medical condition, and their age. The techniques of therapeutic communication encompass listening, open-ended questions, paraphrasing, humour, and therapeutic touch. The nurse’s job is to prioritize the child and their parents. Discussion and conclusion: Childhood cancer is an increasingly diagnosed disease, which radically affects the child’s family, and the quality of life after the recovery. Therefore, what is of vital importance is a correct approach and communication skills of the nurse, who has to gain the parents’ and the child’s trust, as such relationship majorly impacts the well-being and the course of the treatment. In Slovenia there is a great deal on this topic, but in practice we still do not give much importance to good communication.
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