Introduction

Summary

This section describes the authors' personal motivation to write this book. It describes the content of the book as well as the limitations that exist with the current knowledge base. Research has shown that not all families are well supported by healthcare practitioners. Children and young people may be overlooked and there is a lack of services targeted at them and 'child friendly' spaces. The book is targeted at healthcare professionals interested in working with children, young people and families experiencing parental cancer. The knowledge is limited by available research mostly focused on Western populations and a limited number of countries. More clarity and research are needed to understand individual differences for example by age and gender. The book is not focused on the medical aspects of cancer, but provides a more holistic understanding including the cultural, psychological and parental variables that impact the experience of parental cancer.