Personal experience, Season 6
In this episode, Dr Caroline Leek talks about the Fruitfly Collective, which she founded to empower people with a cancer diagnosis to navigate family life and to support their children.
I was playing with my little kids and thinking how they learn… I was perplexed why at school they learn all the sciencey things which they need to know. They need to know about space and magnetism and all that stuff. But really, is there anything about when a parent or a loved one in their family is sick?
- Caroline Leek
Caroline Leek is the founder of Fruitfly Collective, which empowers people with a cancer diagnosis to navigate family life and to support their children. Caroline set up Fruitfly Collective to give the kind of support she wished she’d had when her own father died when she was 12 years old.
In this episode, Caroline gives helpful tips for explaining cancer to children of all ages, including whether it's OK to use the word "cancer", the importance of getting timing right, and how to talk to a child who refuses to talk about cancer. She also describes the resources available to help with parenting during treatment for breast cancer, such as Fruitfly Collective's parenting coaching programme and the Cancer Cloud Kits designed to help families learn about cancer.
Visit Fruitfly Collective to access the brilliant toolkits and resources discussed in this episode.
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