ArticleJCO oncology practice2021
Talking With Children About Prognosis: The Decisions and Experiences of Mothers With Metastatic Cancer.
Article in JCO oncology practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Parenting concerns among patients with cancer: a qualitative meta-synthesis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Communication between mothers with breast cancer and minor children: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Pooled it
- "There's a lot of unknowns": a thematic analysis of the experiences of young adults with cancer who died during a psychosocial intervention trial.BMC palliative care · 2025Trial
- A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Families Addressing Cancer Together for Parents With Cancer: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effects.Psycho-oncology · 2025Trial
- Supportive Care for Dual Caregivers who Care for Their Partner With Cancer and Their Young Children.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2023Trial
- Psychosocial interventions to support parenting among parents with cancer: A scoping review.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2026Review
- Affect-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy for mothers diagnosed with cancer - A feasibility study.Internet interventions · 2026Article
- Parenting and Family Concerns of Couples Navigating Advanced Breast Cancer: Exploring Discussions Around Parenting Challenges and Targets for Intervention.Psycho-oncology · 2025Article
- The usage of family audiobooks as a legacy for grieving children - an exploratory quantitative analysis among terminally ill parents and close persons.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Parenting under pressure: a cross-sectional questionnaire study of psychological distress, parenting concerns, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation in parents with cancer.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2024Article
- Cancer parents' experiences of parenting concerns about minor children: A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2024Review
- Article
- Patients with advanced cancer and their spouses parenting minor children: The role of the relationship context in parenting concerns.Psycho-oncology · 2024Article
- Parents living with and beyond cancer: A scoping review of unmet supportive care needs and impact on daily life.The British journal of occupational therapy · 2023Review
- Living With an Advanced Cancer While Parenting Minor Children: A Needs Assessment Study.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2023Article
- Families Addressing Cancer Together (FACT): feasibility and acceptability of a web-based psychosocial intervention for parents with cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeParents with metastatic cancer report unique concerns and challenges when discussing their illness with their minor children. Greater understanding of parents' communication experiences can facilitate these discussions. This study aimed to describe the challenges, approaches, and decisions related to discussing prognosis among a sample of mothers with metastatic cancer.
methodsWe conducted a web-based cross-sectional survey assessing the psychosocial concerns of 224 women with metastatic cancer who had minor children. This analysis focused on participant responses to structured and open-ended questions addressing communication with their children. We used descriptive statistics to summarize responses to the structured questions and qualitative content analysis for responses to open-ended questions.
resultsNearly 80% (n = 176) reported they had discussed their prognosis with at least one of their children; 79% identified at least one barrier to these discussions. The most common obstacles were participants' uncertainty about their illness trajectory (43%) and emotional distress associated with these conversations (41%). Qualitative analyses revealed three principles that guided mothers' communication decisions: commitment to honesty and protection; child developmental readiness; and beliefs about the right time. Approaches to discussing prognosis included total honesty, using the language of chronic illness, gradual disclosure, waiting for questions, and emphasizing hope, love, and reassurance.
conclusionThis study provides further evidence of the complexity and challenges of parental communication with their children about metastatic cancer. There is a need for both clinicians and researchers to identify, test, and implement evidence-based strategies to assist ill parents with their communication concerns.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.