Parenting Through Cancer: Less Perfection, More Connection

Parenting Through Cancer: Less Perfection, More Connection

From This is Cancer by Siteman Cancer Center

August 27, 2025 · 50 min · Episode 32

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges of parenting through a cancer diagnosis and the importance of support and honest communication within the family.

When you're diagnosed with cancer, everything changes — except your kids still need dinner, stories, clean clothes and someone to kiss them goodnight. In this episode, Faith shares how she and her husband navigated her stage 4 cancer diagnosis while raising two young daughters. With support from her care team and community, they worked to keep routines steady, emotions honest, and hope alive. Joined by WashU Medicine gynecologic oncologist Andrea Hagemann, MD, and WashU Medicine clinical psychologist Amaris Tippey, PhD, we explore the emotional toll of parenting through illness, the power of honest conversations with kids, and how love, support and boundaries can carry a family through the unimaginable. This is an episode about resilience, community and the kind of strength that grows in the hardest places. “This is Cancer” is brought to you by Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Wash U Medicine, and produced at Spot Content Studio in St. Louis, MO. For more information on topics discussed in this episode, go to: https://siteman.wustl.edu/patients/ https://siteman.wustl.edu/visiting/patient-and-family-services/social-work-services/…

People in this episode

Guests: Faith, Andrea Hagemann, MD, Amaris Tippey, PhD

Topics covered

  • parenting through illness
  • cancer diagnosis
  • emotional support
  • family resilience
  • honest conversations
  • community support

Keywords

  • cancer
  • parenting
  • emotional toll
  • support
  • resilience
  • community
  • honest conversations

Sponsors

Siteman Cancer Center

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Siteman Cancer Center, WashU Medicine

Places: St. Louis, MO

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