向您的孩子解释癌症和家庭健康史
New book helps parents tackle the conversation
第一次Shannon Pulaski与她的双胞胎女儿讨论了家庭基因，他们看着他们的牛仔裤混乱。
“No, not those jeans; the ones in your body,” she explained with a laugh.
“We approached the idea of genetics keeping it really simple,” explains Pulaski, author of “Mom’s Genes: Empowering children to learn about their family’s health history,” published by CURE Media Group in 2018. Pulaski, a New Jersey-based attorney and patient advocate, spoke recently by phone to HealthCentral.
“我们开始了：'你知道妈妈有蓝眼睛，你也是。你认为你从哪里得到它们？“我的一个女儿有这些可爱的小雀斑，我们会指向他们并说，”那些来自家庭特征的人。“
“我们让谈话以适当的方式移动，旨在向该知识添加块，从而创建一个科学课程，但总是确保他们在他们可以理解的水平上得到它。”
Her daughters, now 7, and her son, 4, began drawing pictures about all they had learned. One day she looked at the collection and thought, “This could be a book.”
Right around the time the twins were born, Pulaski’s mother was被诊断为卵巢癌。她有一个BRCA（乳腺癌基因）突变，使她患有卵巢，乳腺和其他癌症的高风险。普拉斯特很快就知道了，她也有相同的基因突变。由于经历了预防性的手术，以防止获得这些癌症。
Why she wrote the book
Last year, Pulaski’s children’s book, for ages 4 to 8, was published. Her goal for the book was to help parents share their family health history and encourage children to establish healthy behaviors at a young age.
“Knowing that there is ahistory of cancer in the family应该是孩子从一开始就意识到的东西，“她说。应该有稳定的信息融合，以便“当他们获得此信息时没有一天，感觉就像他们被公共汽车击中一样。如果它慢慢融入，它将成为他们思想过程的一部分，并帮助他们应对并发展积极主动行为和健康的生活方式。“
That’s how it is for her children. “In my family we understand that we have a genetic mutation that can lead to cancer, so it’s really important for everybody to make sure that they’re eating correctly, exercising, and opening lines of communication with a health care professional.”
To encourage that, she has changed her tactics in the doctor’s office. “When we go to the pediatrician, I’m starting to have them talk a bit more than I’ll talk.” For example, she says, “If we go in with a sore throat, I ask my daughter to tell the doctor what’s wrong so she develops the confidence and voice and relationship with her health care provider.”
Even though it’s not always easy to talk about such heavy topics as illness and disease with children, it’s important to explain why Mommy has so many doctors’ appointments or why grandma is always so tired.
孩子们理解快,普拉斯基说。和不认为that just because cancer, heart disease, or other health issues aren’t discussed, that your little ones aren’t aware. “They’re very in tune with what’s going on in the house, even if they don’t understand it.” Be prepared for questions and comments to arise at the most awkward times — in the supermarket line or on a crowded bus.
And sometimes long after your initial conversation. “One morning, I was brushing my hair and my daughter asked how I was feeling after my surgery, which had been months ago,” she says. “I told her[一世]was doing much better. Clearly it was something she was still processing and thinking about.”
Such conversations about genetics and DNA are never meant to create unnecessary worry or anxiety, she says. In fact, the book approaches the subject in a very matter-of-fact way. For example, one page reads, “Mom says learning our history will help me to see that knowing myself is the key to staying healthy…. Lucky for me I’ll be able to share the story of my genes so my family can help me understand what it all means.”
Pulaski说重点是“不是恐惧和统计数据。我们想把思想的过程变成我的身体，是什么样的，正常是什么，如果不是，我该怎么办。“
She knows that not every family is ready to tackle such tough topics. The book is just “one tool in the toolbox” to help introduce the concept of familial genetic predispositions.
“讨论你认为你的孩子可以处理的东西和在什么年龄，”她说。“当他们提出问题时，可以添加。这一切都很个人，你必须了解你的家人，你的孩子，你自己。“
Future books will continue theme
“Mom’s Genes” is just the first in a series Pulaski has planned. Subsequent books will focus on more complex topics like genetic testing. One will explore a family’s discovery of a genetic mutation. Each book will be aimed at a slightly older audience. The books will relate to any genetic mutation or disease that may be in a child’s gene pool.
她的希望是她自己的孩子和读书的其他人将从“知识是力量的力量”中受益。通过拥有信息和教育自己，[我们的孩子]可以积极主动他们的健康，并且有长期的健康生活。“
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