Isabel Sternthal

LIA at Maggie’s Barts

Week 5

As of today, I have completed my second-to-last week at Maggie’s Barts. This week, my primary responsibility was to research and compile a list of resources for adults with cancer who will have to tell children and adolescents in their life about their diagnosis. Within this area, I was asked to find resources that would address various stages of child development, the experience of speaking with neurodivergent young people about a cancer diagnosis, and advice for parents/family members who have non-curative diagnoses. I learned a great deal from seeing which types of resources are and are not readily available. While there is substantial content that focuses on age-specific advice, there are far fewer resources that address what this experience is like for the family members of neurodivergent young people.This may be an area that I would like to explore in the future. Organizations such as Autism Speaks provide guidance on how to prepare a child for loss and grief, but there are fewer resources that speak to a cancer diagnosis more generally. I can only imagine what it is like for parents to be looking for diagnosis-specific resources, but find only stories in which a parent passes away. 

This coming week, I will be compiling a list of podcasts about cancer experiences to be used by center visitors as an additional resource during their care. I am excited to complete my time here with a project that connects to my passion for audio journalism, and will be keen to assess both the range of content already available, and gaps to be addressed. My goal this week will be to ensure that I am asking any final questions of the staff here, engaging meaningfully with center visitors, and to ensure that I am actively reflecting on my experience over the last several weeks.