How do you talk to your children about cancer without overwhelming them or leaving them to fill in the blanks?
Becca Schuetz is a certified child life specialist and founder of Coping Solutions. With more than a decade of experience in pediatric and adult oncology, she helps families talk about cancer, treatment, grief, and change in ways children can understand. Her work is rooted in child development, honest communication, emotional safety, and family support.
Becca’s path began with her own childhood health issues. She remembers wishing her family had someone to explain what was happening and help them cope. Later, an internship with Camp Sunshine showed her how much support families facing childhood cancer need. That experience shaped her focus on oncology and child life care.
Becca explains why children often cope better when parents use clear, age-appropriate language. She shares how conversations should change for toddlers, school-age children, and teens. Parents will also hear practical ways to prepare kids for treatment, respond when they shut down, maintain helpful routines, and make space for grief.
Her message for parents is simple. You don’t need perfect words. Keep showing up, keep communication open, and start where you are. Children need honesty, consistency, connection, and the reassurance that they will be cared for.
Highlights:
· How children process cancer at different ages
Age-appropriate ways to explain cancer.
· What children may be saying without words
How behavior can reveal what they’re feeling.
· How to create emotional safety at home
Why naming feelings helps kids cope.
· Ways to preserve stability during treatment
How routines and connection build security.
· Why parents need support too
How child life and peer support can help.
Mentioned Resources:
CanCare- www.cancare.org
Becca’s website – https://www.copingsolutionsllc.com
About the Guest:
Becca Schuetz is a Certified Child Life Specialist, a guide for grieving kids, and a believer in families' capacity to endure. For more than a decade, she worked inside two of the country's leading hospital systems, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory Healthcare, walking beside families in pediatric and adult oncology through diagnosis, treatment, and everything in between. She brings that experience to her private practice, Coping Solutions, where she helps children of all ages face loss, fear, and change in ways that are developmentally honest and emotionally safe. Becca shares what children actually understand about illness and death, how adults get it wrong with the best intentions, and why the hardest seasons are meant to be walked together.
Love the podcast? You’ll be moved by the book. The Hope in the Face of Cancer book shares inspiring, real stories from survivors, caregivers, and healthcare heroes. Raw, uplifting, and full of heart—for anyone seeking hope and connection. Get your copy: cancare.org/hopebook.
About Our Host:
Darcie Champagne Wells is the President and CEO of CanCare, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to providing support to the cancer community by pairing cancer patients with survivors. Since joining in November 2020 as the third President & CEO, Darcie has driven significant growth, increasing one-to-one support matches by 45% and healthcare referrals by 66%. In 2022, she initiated the Impact Acceleration Initiative to further expand support for cancer patients and caregivers. Her leadership has earned her recognition as a “Most Admired CEO” and “Woman Who Means Business” by the Houston Business Journal, and national “Fundraiser of the Year” by RAISE. Darcie holds a BS in Business Administration from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of Houston.
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📖 Enjoy the podcast? You’ll love the book.
Check out our book, Hope in the Face of Cancer—a powerful collection of real stories from survivors, caregivers, and healthcare heroes. It’s uplifting, raw, and full of heart. Get your copy at cancare.org/hopebook.