Cancer Resource for Children

I just received these booklets in the mail today and thought I'd tell you about them in case your family knows someone battling cancer- these days it seems like most all of us do! The books have a few activities, a story about Arthur characters who find out that their favorite lunch lady at school has cancer, and several pages of ideas for parents. Lance Armstrong is featured in the story because Livestrong is one of the organizations involved in the creation of the booklet. This seems like a great children's resource to me- it is colorful, developmentally appropriate, and contains lots of helpful information. If you would like me to send one home to you, just let me know which child's backpack to send it in. I will also put a few in the Parenting Pockets outside my office, so you can pick one up there if you'd like to. 

While we're on the subject, I've read a few adult books related to cancer prevention lately that I found very informative. Of course this is not really children/counseling-related, but since I know so many of us are dealing with cancer among our loved ones and trying to keep our own families healthy, I thought I'd share the titles here just in case you happen to be interested. The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, is not just about cancer, it is about disease prevention in general. It focuses mainly on scientific studies about nutrition. Anticancer, by David Servan-Schreiber, is a personal account of a doctor's own cancer diagnosis and the research he did on prevention through food, exercise, leading a less stressful lifestyle, etc. Healthy At 100, by John Robbins (heir to Baskin-Robbins ice cream), is not cancer-specific either, it is more an exploration of a few societies in the world who have almost no cancer/disease at all and what aspects of their lifestyle may be connected to their good health. All 3 are available at our public library. I hope you like them if you try them!