When a child falls ill with cancer, both the child and all family members have to face a new reality, full of unique trials. Thus, the purpose of my research is to contribute to a better understanding of the situation of families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer. In this difficult period, a comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges faced by family members, as well as the creation of support and assistance programs adapted to them, is of key importance. I was mainly interested in how the parents experienced their child's illness, what challenges they encountered, how the family dynamic changed and what support was available to them during the child's treatment. I found that parents faced many unpleasant emotions and feelings in the process of treating their children. In addition to the initial shock, fear, horror, sadness, despair, anxiety, guilt and helplessness appeared. They coped with their child's illness in different ways and adapted over time. Parents also noticed changes in their perception of the world and themselves. With the child's illness, many challenges arose for the parents, which caused them additional distress. They were related to communication with both medical staff and relatives, coordination of care for children, reorganization of professional life, financial and travel expenses, self-care, isolation, reaction of their environment and friends. Additionally, they had to take care of a sick child, personal challenges, and challenges related to rebalancing the family dynamic. The child's illness was associated with changes in family dynamics, more precisely with changes in the relationship between partners, in the relationship with children, in the roles of family members, in communication between partners and in the boundaries and rules that applied within the family before the child's illness. Parents mainly used informal help and support, while cooperation with professionals was rare. I found that most parents had no experience of working with a social worker and could not even imagine her role in helping and supporting families. This shows the poor development of social work in healthcare in Slovenia, more precisely in the field of pediatric hematology and oncology, and, in my opinion, the urgent need for change.
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