How to talk to your child about a cancer diagnosis

New figures suggest that cancer cases have reached a record level in the UK, with around one person diagnosed every 80 seconds.

Incidences have risen to 620 per 100,000 people in a decade (from 610), while cases diagnosed at an early stage have barely changed (from 54% to 55%), according to Cancer Research UK’s Cancer in the UK Report 2026.

The analysis also shows that more than 403,000 people are diagnosed with the disease every year, mainly driven by a growing and ageing population, with people more likely to develop the disease as they age.

Many parents find breaking the news of a cancer diagnosis incredibly hard, so we spoke to Robin Muir, clinical psychologist and centre head at Maggie’s Manchester, who offered some useful tips on how to navigate this sensitive topic with children…

Think about timing

“Think about times during the day where your child might have more energy and capacity to have a conversation like this,” recommends Muir. “For example, you might want to take them out of school early so they are more likely to have energy and time to process an emotional response, rather than telling them before they go to bed when they are really tired and might find it hard to take in that information.”

Be honest

Muir emphasises the importance of protecting that trust and rapport with your child by being honest.

“If we’re not honest with children, there’s a risk to that trust which might make them question or doubt information that we give them further down the line,” says the psychologist. “So, protect that trust by being appropriately honest with them.

“Children are incredibly astute and intuitive and will often pick up on things much earlier than adults might suspect.”

Use age-appropriate language

“Think about what language your child already uses. If you’ve got a really young child, then you might want to use words like poorly or being sick,” suggests Muir.

“Older children tend to be more familiar with the idea of cancer, so it might be good to think about what experiences they’ve previously had in their life, what they’ve consumed from the media and what’s previously happened within their peer group.”

“It’s can be a good opportunity to talk to them and educate them about that word and introduce it into their vocabulary,” says Muir. “Not naming it can sometimes make it more scary.”

Lean on resources

“There’s lots of resources on the internet that can be helpful and lots of books which are aimed at facilitating conversation within families and giving information to children through the format of a story,” recommends Muir.

“There’s also charities which specialise in this area and nurses within the NHS are often well placed to have conversations with parents about how to talk to children about having cancer.”

Don’t rush it

“It’s good to have some time to prepare and think about what information that you want your child to have and to understand,” says the psychologist. “If parents rush into that, they might find themselves giving a child too much information and it might become overwhelming for themselves and the child.”

Remember that it will be an ongoing conversation

“One of the elements of being prepared is to recognise it’s going to be a conversation that happens over time, and not just one single conversation,” says Muir. “We don’t want to put pressure on that first conversation as being the only one that’s going to occur.

“That first initial conversation is about opening up and maybe giving some crucial bits of information, but also making sure that you leave the conversation open so you can come back to it regularly.”

Remember that everyone reacts differently

“It’s important to tell your child it’s OK to have an emotional response,  and that it’s healthy,” says Muir. “Remind them that it’s OK to feel sad or angry and to feel lots of different emotions.”

Open the door for further questions

“Make sure that they know that they can come and ask questions,” advises the psychologist. “This can be done in different ways. It might be a conversation where you sit down and talk about it, it could take place in a neutral setting like a Maggie’s centre, or sometimes it might not even be a verbal conversation. Your children might want to write down their worries or questions on bits of paper, so just see what works best for your family.”

Remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect

“We don’t have to be perfect as parents, and it’s OK to get it wrong,” emphasises Muir. “It might be a learning experience with your child of what feels comfortable for them in terms of the language that you use.”

For 30 years, Maggie’s has provided free, expert emotional, practical and psychological support for people with cancer, and their family and friends.  Visit maggies.org to find out more.