Communicating with the Care Team During Treatment
About this episode
This episode discusses the importance of communication and advocacy with the care team during a child's treatment for serious illness.
Communicating with the care team can feel overwhelming, especially when your child is going through a serious illness and you are facing big decisions. In this episode, Tekeima Townsend-Billups talks with caregivers Tasha and Dean Ives, as well as patient family-centered care expert Brittany Barnett, about how to ask questions and advocate for your child. Tekeima describes advocacy as a “sacred practice of love in action.” Advocacy moves caregivers to speak up during treatment. Tasha and Dean share how they learned how to advocate for their daughter, Sydney, during her treatment for astrocytoma. They explain what helped them find their voice, understand treatment options, and work with the medical team. They discuss balancing hope and reality, handling hard conversations, and trusting their instincts as parents. Brittany offers tips for joining in medical rounds, finding support, and making sure that your concerns are heard. A special thank you to our host, Tekeima Townsend-Billups, senior staff chaplain at St. Jude; our expert, Brittany Barnett, manager of the Patient Family-Centered Care Program at St. Jude; and to our guests, Tasha and Dean Ives. This episode was recorded on…
More episodes of Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast
- What is a Clinical Trial?
- Relationships and Social Life During Treatment
- Self-Compassion and Seeking Support
- Glimpses of Light in the Darkness
- Emotional Wellbeing
- Fertility Preservation Decisions
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast podcast page.