Table 2 Attitude of mother towards informing children of diagnosis (n = 28)
From: Impact of maternal breast cancer on school-aged children in Saudi Arabia
Mean (SD) | % (n) | |
|---|---|---|
Told children diagnosis, % yes | -- | 75% (21) |
Age of child when told (ages 5–16), y | ||
1st child | 13.0 (2.5) | -- |
2nd child | 8.7 (1.9) | -- |
3rd child | 5.9 (1.8) | -- |
Why told (n = 21), % yes (n) | ||
Know from me | -- | 47.6 (10) |
Child more scared if not told | -- | 42.8 [9] |
Empower them | -- | 42.8 [9] |
Help cope better with disease | -- | 33.3 [7] |
Increase faith in God’s reward | -- | 23.8 [5] |
Why wait or not tell, % yes (n) | ||
No need to scare | -- | 35.7 (10) |
Issue for adults only | --- | 25.0 [7] |
No benefit | -- | 10.7 [3] |
Might damage personality | -- | 10.7 [3] |
Don’t want to hurt child | -- | 0.0 (0) |
Talked to child about cancer, % yes (n) | -- | 71.4 (20) |
What told child, % yes (n) | ||
A disease like any disease | -- | 39.3 (11) |
New treatment with good results | -- | 39.3 (11) |
Allah’s love to test us and reward | -- | 39.3 (11) |
Will take time to recover | -- | 25.0 [7] |
Believe Allah will be there and pray | -- | 21.4 [6] |
Explained treatment to child, % yes (n) | -- | 60.7 (17) |
What told child about treatment, % yes (n) | ||
Treatment will take long time | -- | 57.1 (16) |
Might lose hair | -- | 50.0 (14) |
Might need surgery | -- | 39.3 (11) |
Will suffer from side effects | -- | 25.0 [7] |
Won’t be able to do things like before | -- | 14.3 [4] |
Love them and need their help | -- | 14.3 [4] |