All ages

If your child has cancer, please talk to your child's healthcare team before using any complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) for your child. Some CAM treatments, even vitamins, can interfere with standard medical treatment or can be unsafe for your child with cancer. 

When your child is getting ready to go home from hospital, feelings of excitement can be mixed with feelings of anxiety for everyone in the whānau (family). 

If your child has had a cancer diagnosis, you and your whānau (family) should know that you are not alone. Support is available.

Find out about some techniques you can use to help your child cope with their cancer treatment.

Play is how tamariki (children) make sense of the world around them. In hospital, it helps them to express their feelings and worries, understand what is happening and cope with treatment. This information is for child cancer patients in hospital but is also relevant to any child in hospital.

Sometimes, if your child has lost a lot of weight or has not been eating very well for a period of time, they may need tube feeding. 

Medicines your child has during cancer treatment can sometimes cause taste changes.

Diabetes-related distress and mental health concerns are common in tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) living with diabetes. Support is available to help you and your whānau (family).

All tamariki (children) need to eat well to stay healthy and to grow well. Eating well means eating the right balance of a wide variety of foods. For tamariki who have cancer, eating well is especially important.

Following a traumatic event like a natural disaster, it is normal for tamariki (children), rangatahi (young people) and adults to have strong feelings, reactions, and changes in behaviour. Tamariki learn from their parents’ responses, as well as what they see and hear in the media.

Information for parents and carers about the use of gabapentin for neuropathic pain (pain caused by nerve damage).

Helping tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) with diabetes to move towards self-management has 3 key parts: having knowledge, having skills and having support.

Cleaning your hands gets rid of germs you pick up from other people. Keeping your hands clean is one of the best ways to keep from getting sick and spreading illnesses.

Many tamariki (children) with cancer experience fatigue (extreme tiredness). Many tamariki are experiencing fatigue at the time of diagnosis. Most tamariki with cancer experience fatigue during treatment.

Hair loss happens when chemotherapy interrupts normal hair growth. Hair loss is usually temporary and your child's hair may regrow even before treatment ends.

Chemotherapy will make your child's skin more sensitive to the sun and more likely to burn more easily. Sunscreen (SPF30 or more), a hat and clothing which covers the skin are very important.