How Do I Tell My Kids' Schools About My Lab Results?

I was just diagnosed and all I shared was that I’m having surgery and that I’ll be out until - gave the dates but that I have great paras and a wonderful sub! I’m an M/I teacher and my students won’t understand. Don’t share until you have surgery dates.

I did tell my school right away and they designated an ADMIN as my contact to send necessary paperwork and provide support- she also recently had cancer so that helps. I have so many random apts but my surgery is just before Christmas break and I hopefully won’t miss much because of that. My surgeon said 2-3 weeks

Kids are way smarter and more perceptive than we give them credit for. They will sense your hesitation and candy-coating things will backfire. There are a lot of great resources that will help you inform your kids without scaring them. Even a 3 year old can be told things like this without permanent damage, we told our grandson his grandpa was going to be very ill from cancer, so when it got to terminal stage he had time to process it and realize what it really meant. Not telling them, and having something go sideways, is much more traumatic than letting them understand the concept of serious illness.

Talking to your children's schools about a new diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but many schools have experience supporting families through medical challenges. Consider reaching out to the school counselor or your child's teacher to discuss what information would be helpful for them to know and what accommodations might benefit your children during this time - they're often great allies in providing extra support when families need it most.