Helping Children Fathom Cancer

When 12-year-old Andrea Saltz found out that her father had cancer, she said, she was sad but also angry. “I felt mad because I couldn’t help,” she said.

Her brother Joey said he felt crushed. “I’d go to my room and cry,” the 9-year-old recalled.

The two youngsters, who live in Santa Ana, are among participants of Kids Inc., a new program to help children cope when a parent or sibling is diagnosed with cancer.

“What people forget is cancer is a family disease,” said Dr. Glen R. Justice, medical director of the Orange County Regional Cancer Center at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

The program, aimed at those 6 to 12 years old, provides information and support. Justice said the program’s goal is to “demystify” cancer so that the disease is less scary.

To do that, the free program gives children an inside look at cancer treatment. They meet doctors, visit labs to observe how blood is tested and see the equipment used for radiation treatment.

The youngsters also are encouraged to write down their feelings and participate in group discussions.

“The purpose is for them to become desensitized to alleviate some of their fears,” said Gail Willis, a facilitator for the program. “It’s a relief for these kids when they talk to their peers.”

Willis said children are often confused about the disease and might feel fear, anger and powerlessness.

“Parents are so preoccupied [with] dealing with the disease and the related issues that they sometimes cannot help their children. They are left to deal with their emotions themselves,” said Willis, a social work graduate student at USC.

Heidi Saltz, 46, said she placed Andrea and Joey in the program after her husband, Charles, 49, learned of his cancer. Since enrolling, she said, “they don’t seem as much in awe. They understand why he lost his hair, why he has to take so much medication and why he’s lost weight.”

Saltz said the program also has helped her husband. “The kids now come and talk to him about it, and it makes him feel like he’s not losing touch with them.”

Children in the program say they have benefited from it.

When his mother developed breast cancer, Scott Barbero, 13, of Anaheim “was shocked,” he said. “I didn’t know a lot about [the disease] and if she was going to die.”

With the help of the program, he doesn’t “have to hold feelings inside,” he said. “Before, it felt like a burden. I know now there’s nothing I can do to make it worse. I can’t cure it, but I can support her.”

The next session of Kids Inc. begins March 6. Information: (714) 751-2600.