Personal experience, Season 4
We talk to Elke about how she spoke to her young children about her breast cancer diagnosis and their father's death.
Shortly after the sudden death of her husband, Elke was diagnosed with breast cancer. In both situations, she had to find a way to explain what was happening to her young children.
"I quickly realised when my 34-year-old husband dropped dead how little bereavement support there was for children"
In 2009, Elke's husband died suddenly from a heart attack. As well as having to personally deal with the grief and shock of her sudden loss, Elke had to find a way to explain to her two young children, aged 1 and 3, that their dad was gone.
She looked for resources to help her do so but, not being able to find much, decided to create her own book called 'Is Daddy coming back in a minute'.
3 years later, Elke was diagnosed with breast cancer. By this point in her life, Elke was living with her new partner and his 5 children. Once again, she had to find a way to tell her family the difficult news, and to answer the questions that the kids had. Her experience eventually led her to write another book: 'Is it still ok to have cuddles?'
I never really thought, 'Why me'. I think I was just grateful I'd found it while it was still treatable. I thought about how lucky I was.
- Elke
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