title: Telling the Truth…With Kindness: Retrospective Evaluation of 12 Years of Activity of a Support Group for Children and Their Parents With Cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer in a parent can have harmful effects on a child's ability to cope with the situation, in particular if communication about the disease is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim was to evaluate whether the parent-child group run by a psychoanalyst and a doctor at the hospital helps facilitate communication about the disease with a child and helps to sooth the child and his/her symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative retrospective study conducted among 61 families (71 adults, 19 children) using semidirected interviews made it possible to identify the expectations and benefits perceived by the parents and children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main expectations of the parents were to meet professionals who would help them to speak about the disease and to help the children understand it better in order to reduce their symptoms. The parents' expectations were largely satisfied. As far as the children are concerned, they expressed more benefits (better understanding of the disease, reduction of symptoms, meeting similar others) than expectations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The group is a resource that helps both parents and children. Meeting similar others made it possible to justify each participant's own experiences and promote better communication during the continued course of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The benefits brought about by this group testify to the need to offer such support to a greater number of parents with cancer. Improvements to the way in which the group is organized are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Unité de Psycho-Oncologie, Département de Soins de Support, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif (Ms Landry-Dattée and Drs Boinon and Dauchy); Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy (Ms Roig); Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Paris (Mr Bouregba); and Département des Blocs, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif (Dr Delaigue-Cosset), France.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Landry-Dattée
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boinon
authors.forename: Gaelle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roig
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouregba
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Delaigue-Cosset
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dauchy
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult