Our culture is about opportunity. The availability of knowledge and freedom to make choices based off that information is an important part of our society. Being an empowered parent is about knowing the choices available to you, making educated decisions, and putting yourself in a position to make a positive impact on your child’s life. By actively participating in the treatment process, you are taking steps towards improving the outcome.
The Importance of Empowerment
Before, during, and after a child is treated for cancer, parents naturally feel like they have little to no control over the health of their child, but they do. Parents have to focus on repurposing themselves by taking on their new role as a their child’s advocate. Parents must be the indicators of how their family lives will continue throughout this, not the cancer. By becoming empowered, you the parent will begin to see that a cancer diagnosis is not a hopeless situation.
Modern medicine has deviated from the paternalistic mentality to one of collaboration; therefore, blindly following the doctor’s orders is not always a productive practice. Working through the treatment plan should become a constant conversation with the health care providers. Doctors can provide you with options—Drug A vs. Drug B or treatment path one vs. treatment path two, along with possible side effects—so you’ll be able to make the most appropriate choices for your child’s medical care. Doctors are here to help you take responsibility, so it is imperative that you take advantage of it.
Become an Empowered Parent
A cancer diagnosis is devastating and the steps to follow will be confusing at times, but taking the role of a parent seriously is an imperative part of your child’s health. Ask the doctor questions. Learn about how you can work towards providing the best health, nutrition, and routine for your child.
Medical care is a composite to the cure, but you bring a skill set to the table as well. Everything in the child’s life needs to be evaluated. As a parent, it is your role to pay attention to external areas of your child’s life—spiritual, emotional, nutritional, and educational. Things that were important before your child became ill are still important. The doctor can provide direction; so if you need help, ask for it.
It is important to make proper decisions for your child’s home life since that is where you have the most control. Remember, you know your child the best, so you will need to help the doctor understand specific needs. For example, if your child has trouble swallowing pills, tell the doctor, so she can consider alternative ways to administer the medicine.
Having a team attitude is the best approach. It is important to ask pertinent questions, but it is difficult for the health care provider when the family is only trying to search for things the doctor might have missed. Yes, you should do your research, but this shouldn’t be your only focus. Your doctor understands the intention, but to a degree, it can be counterproductive. Listen to the doctor. She can help you understand what is applicable to your child as well as the realities of the medical field.
The treatment of your child is a partnership. Doctors should bring families into the conversation, and parents should understand that they are important to the team. When it all comes together, it empowers the patient, family, and medical staff by making them all integral parts of your child’s medical care. To be an effective advocate for your child, stay attentive, learn about the options, evaluate the choices, and make informed decisions for your child’s treatment path.
Based on an informational interview with Dr. Heidi Russell, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.