Mummy's Lump helps explain breast cancer

Wednesday 30th April 2008

The UK's first-ever book to help young children whose mums have been diagnosed with breast cancer has been launched by Breast Cancer Care

Gillian Forest, author of Mummy's Lump, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990 when her children were five and seven

“Even though I am an experienced child psychiatrist, I was very unsure how to talk to my children about my diagnosis. Nobody asked if I had any problems with explaining what was happening to my children, everything was focused on my condition.

I was in a great state of anxiety about the children, how to tell them and what to say. In the end I just told them that I had a bad lump that had to be taken out. They coped very well, but at that time there was little available to help parents with their children's needs.”

The book is funded by the Lavender Trust at Breast Cancer Care, which raises money to provide information and support for younger women with breast cancer, and the Ashley Charitable Trust, which works closely with the Oxford Radcliffe Healthcare Trust to help women diagnosed with breast cancer.

You can get your free copy of Mummy's Lump from the Breast Cancer Care website or by calling 0808 800 6000.

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