Example of a letter to let the school know about your child's cancer diagnosis
Dear [Name of Teacher or Principal]:
This letter is to let you know that our child, [Name], was recently diagnosed with [ ], a type of cancer.
Our child is currently receiving treatment at [Name of your hospital]. As we learn more, we will try to pass along information to you or connect you to people at the hospital who can answer questions that you may have about [Name of child]'s treatment.
As parents, we want to provide accurate information about our child's cancer and treatment so that other children and families will understand.
It is important that people know that of all children diagnosed with cancer around 80 percent are cured.
We give you permission to share this information with staff and other children in the class/school. We understand that children's cancer is rare and rumours may begin to circulate.
We are looking forward to a time when [Name of child] can rejoin their classmates. We are keen for [Name of child] to stay connected socially with their friends and classmates while they are out of school.
We are also, of course, concerned about [Name of child]'s academic progress and we hope to talk with you soon about how to help them as they go through cancer treatment.
[SENTENCE YOU CAN ADD IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE CHILD IN THE SCHOOL:]
Please also pass on information about our child's diagnosis to the teachers for our other children, [Names of your other children], as it will be important for their teachers and classmates to understand the challenges facing our family.
During [Name of child] treatment their ability to fight infection will be weakened. It is therefore very important that we are told if any children at school have chickenpox or measles.
There are some useful childhood cancer resources for teachers on the KidsHealth website: www.kidshealth.org.nz/cancer-education.
Please contact us/our family representative with any questions or concerns. The best way to reach us/them is [Phone number or email or other address].
Thank you for your concern and help.
Sincerely,
Acknowledgements
The pages in the childhood cancer and education section of this website have been developed in collaboration with the National Child Cancer Network (NZ), and the Ministry of Education. Content has been approved by the National Child Cancer Network (NZ).
