When a Parent Has Cancer: What Kids Understand Before We Say It
Inside the Children's Hospital
Release Date: 04/15/2026
Tay-Sachs Disease: A Father’s Story of Diagnosis, Parenting, and Purpose
Inside the Children's Hospital
In this episode of Inside the Children’s Hospital, Katie Taylor sits down with Dr. Matt Goldstein—physician, biotech leader, and father—who shares the story of his daughter, Havi, and her diagnosis with Tay-Sachs disease. Despite both parents undergoing genetic screening before starting their family, a testing error led to a missed diagnosis. Javi appeared to develop typically at first, but over time, subtle changes led to a life-altering realization: she had a rare, fatal neurodegenerative condition. As a physician, Matt was trained to solve problems. As a parent, he was driven to...
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Inside the Children's Hospital
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Inside the Children's Hospital
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Inside the Children's Hospital
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Inside the Children's Hospital
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When a Parent Has Cancer: What Kids Understand Before We Say It
Inside the Children's Hospital
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Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA): A Parent’s Journey from First Signs to Diagnosis
Inside the Children's Hospital
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HIE at Birth: A Dad’s Story of Brain Injury, NICU Trauma, and Finding Purpose
Inside the Children's Hospital
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Inside the Children's Hospital
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Life After Pediatric Kidney Transplant: A Mom’s Journey Through Dialysis, Surgery, and Recovery
Inside the Children's Hospital
What does life really look like after a child receives a kidney transplant? Many people think transplant is the end of the journey—but for families, it’s often just the beginning. This week’s guest, Lyndsey Fedorko, returns to the podcast to share the next chapter of her son James’s medical journey—life after a kidney transplant. After years of dialysis, hospitalizations, and uncertainty, James received a life-saving kidney transplant from his aunt, marking the beginning of a new season for their family. Lyndsey and Katie reflect on the intense months surrounding transplant surgery,...
info_outlineWhat happens when your child already senses something life-changing—before anyone has found the words to say it out loud?
When serious illness enters a family, children often understand more than we realize. And for caregivers, the challenge becomes not only navigating medical decisions, but also finding the right way to support their children through it all.
This week, Katie sits down with Anna Lonon, founder of the Lonon Foundation, to share her family’s story of navigating cancer when her husband Michael was diagnosed with stage three head and neck cancer at just 29 years old. While raising a young son and later welcoming a newborn daughter, Anna faced the unimaginable reality of caregiving, loss, and parenting through profound uncertainty.
Anna opens up about what it looked like to balance hospital visits, therapies, and daily life, and the emotional toll of making impossible decisions while trying to hold her family together. She shares powerful moments, including the realization that her young son understood far more about his father’s illness than anyone had explained, and how that shaped the way she approached communication in the years that followed.
After later facing her own cancer diagnosis, Anna made a different choice—seeking out child life support early to guide honest, developmentally appropriate conversations with her children. Through her experiences, she highlights the importance of listening to children’s cues, trusting your instincts as a parent, and creating space for both grief and resilience.
If you’ve ever struggled with how to talk to your child about illness, felt overwhelmed as a caregiver, or wondered how to support your family through uncertainty, this conversation offers validation, insight, and hope.
This episode is sponsored by Gebauer PainEase®. We extend our sincere gratitude to Gebauer PainEase® for supporting this episode. To learn more about this product, visit their website.
Resources from today's episode:
Visit the Lonon Foundation website
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Medical information provided is not a substitute for professional advice—please consult your care team.
Keywords:
parent cancer child support, talking to kids about cancer, caregiver mental load, parenting through illness, child life specialist support, family coping with cancer, grief and parenting, pediatric emotional support, supporting children through loss, caregiver burnout, trauma-informed parenting, childhood understanding of illness, cancer impact on families