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WHEN A CHILD HAS CANCER

                               I was overcome by feelings of hopelessness. I felt as if the ground beneath my feet had given way. I began to experience feelings of grief, as if my little girl were already dead.”-Jason, when he discovered that his daughter had cancer. Learning that your child has cancer can be an overwhelming, even terrifying, experience. How often does it occur? According to the International Union Against Cancer, although “childhood cancers represent a small percentage of all cancers, each year more than 160,000 children [worldwide] are diagnosed and cancer is the second most common cause of death, after accidents, among children in developed countries.” For example, “there are an estimated 9,000 new cases of childhood cancer each year” in Brazil, states the National Institute of Cancer. Childhood cancer strikes “a terrible blow that afflicts, without exception, all the members of the family,” says the book A margem do leito –A mae e o cancer infant