You're A Cancer Survivor - What Does That Mean? (For Kids)

By Allie Neenan, PhD, LP | Last updated 7/14/26

Co-authors:

Mariah Forster Olson, MBA

Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), Survivorship Lead 

The Neuroblastoma Children's Cancer Society (NCCS), Survivor, Family, and Resource Director

Margaret Gossen, AM, LCSW, OSW-C

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Social Worker

Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital

This Article Is Just For You!

This is a special article written for kids who:

1. Have had cancer

2. Are all done with cancer treatment

3. Do not know or remember much about cancer, and are ready to learn more

If you haven't been here before, welcome to Cancer Cushion! Every post on this website is written by licensed clinical psychologist, Allie Neenan. Cancer Cushion is my resource library for every age, role, and stage in the childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer journey. While I wish websites like this weren't necessary, I'm glad you're here.

We wrote this article for you because cancer is a unique experience, and there is a lot to learn about it. Everyone has things that make them unique. Your favorite songs, favorite foods, favorite animals, and favorite places are just that - yours. You are special because of the way that you laugh and smile, and because of the way you have fun with people you love. 

Some of the things that make people unique are not so fun. Everyone goes through hard things. Everyone has moments that make them cry or yell. You might know people who have been through big and scary things. Some people talk about the really hard things they go through, and some people do not talk about those things very much.

Some kids go through these big things. They might get hurt, or they might get sick. One kind of sickness that can happen to kids is called cancer. Cancer is a type of sickness that grows from inside the body. There are special kinds of medicine that are used to treat cancer. If you have had cancer, you might know how these medicines taste or feel. It is important for kids who had cancer to learn about what cancer is and how to be healthy as survivors. It’s okay if you don’t remember much about cancer - your family and your doctors can help you learn what you need to know.

Let’s Grab A Grown Up

You might already be reading this with a parent or another grown up. If you are not reading it with a parent or another grown up, you can wait to read more until you can read it together with them. Cancer is a serious topic, and it’s best to have someone with you if you start to feel sad or overwhelmed.

Who Are We?

So, who is writing this article for you? We’re so glad you asked! There are three of us who all know different things about cancer and kids:

Allie - Allie is a psychologist. That means she is a doctor who helps with feelings. She helps kids and parents understand what they think and what they feel. She also helps people talk about things that are hard to talk about. She knows that kids and teenagers go through cancer differently than adults do. A psychologist can help kids feel better when they have to handle hard things like cancer. 

Mariah - Mariah is a childhood cancer survivor who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at one year old. She went through surgeries, radiation, and two years of experimental chemotherapy. and today, she lives with the effects from her treatments. Mariah wrote the memoir Hope Over Despair: Childhood Cancer and the Lifelong Journey of Survivorship, and she also helps with multiple childhood cancer nonprofit organizations. A nonprofit organization is a group of people who work together for a common cause, such as childhood cancer, and any money made is used to help the cause. For one of those organizations, the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), Mariah co-founded and leads the CAC2 Survivorship Toolkit, which is mentioned later in this article.

Margaret - Margaret is a licensed clinical social worker.  She has lots of experience working with patients both little and big, from the time of diagnosis through survivorship.  She is passionate about working with patients and whole families to support them through the cancer experience as well as in the complex medical system.

We worked together to write this article and help you learn more about what cancer is and what being a cancer survivor means. You can start by reading just one section at a time and thinking about it. You can ask questions, and if your family cannot answer them, you can ask your doctor. Once you have all your questions answered from one section, you can read another section. You and your family can take as much time as you need, and you can ask your doctor or medical team for help if reading about cancer is upsetting.

Let’s Start With What Cancer Isn’t

Cancer is complicated, and it can be very scary. That is why it is so important to know the facts. We will start with some things that are NOT true about cancer:

• Cancer is not contagious - you cannot catch cancer from someone else, and they cannot catch cancer from you.

• Cancer is never, ever a kid’s fault. 

• Nobody knows for sure why kids sometimes get cancer. What we do know is that nothing you ate, or touched, or did caused you to get sick. 

• Cancer is not a punishment! 

• Cancer does not look the same for everyone. For example, some kids lose their hair, and some do not. 

• Cancer is not something to tease another person about. It is serious and it should be treated with respect.

But What Is Cancer?

• Cancer is a disease of the body’s cells, which are like the building blocks of your body. Cancer happens when one type of cell grows too fast.

• Your body knows how to make all the cells that you need: skin cells, blood cells, bone cells, and muscle cells are just a few types. 

• When blood cells grow too fast, it can cause a type of cancer called leukemia. 

• When bone cells or muscle cells grow too fast, it can cause a type of cancer called sarcoma. 

• There are several types of blood, bone, and muscle cells, so there are several types of leukemias and sarcomas. 

• Other cancers in other parts of the body have different names. You can ask your parents or doctors for the name of your cancer, if you do not know what type you had.

• All cancers are called diseases because they can cause parts of the body to stop working.

How Does Cancer Work?

• Sometimes the cancer cells grow together in a big clump. This is called a tumor. 

• Cancer cells can make it hard for your body to eat, move, or breathe.

• Sometimes cancer cells are too small to see without special pictures like MRI scans, CT scans, and X-rays. Each picture helps doctors learn different things about what the cancer cells look like. 

• Doctors also look for cancer in blood, and they will examine it to see if kids need any extra medicine to stay healthy.

• When doctors need to look at blood, they collect it by using a needle that goes into the skin.

• When someone has cancer, they need special medicines and treatments to get rid of the cells. 

• These treatments also need to prevent the cancer cells from coming back. 

• Doctors know that it is hard for kids to take medicine and be in the hospital. They try to make schedules for kids to take some of their medicine in the hospital, and some of the medicine at home. 

• Sometimes, kids feel really sick when they’re getting treatment for cancer, andthey may have to go to the hospital more than their doctors originally planned. That part is very hard, and it is okay to be sad or angry if that happens.

What Happens After Cancer?

• After cancer treatment is done, kids may still need to go to the doctor for extra appointments. It’s okay to feel worried or frustrated if that happens. 

• Some people still feel sick after they are all done taking medicine, and these problems are called side effects.

• Some side effects may be short-term, which means they only last a little while.

• Some are long-term side effects, which means they last a long time. 

• Late effects are medical conditions that can occur from months to years to even decades after treatment for cancer has finished.

• Your oncologist (cancer doctor) wrote a treatment summary when your cancer treatment ended. You can read the treatment summary to learn more about your cancer, the medicines and other treatments that you received, any side effects or issues with those treatments, various types of test results, and more. 

• Different kinds of doctors can help you stay healthy and manage side effects and late effects as a survivor. You may also see your oncologist when you are a cancer survivor.

• Your primary care doctor knows all about your health before, during, and after cancer. They can also care for you when you are a cancer survivor.

Cancer Sounds Scary…

Cancer can be a very scary disease. It is normal to feel scared when you go to the doctor, when you feel sick, or when you talk about cancer. Furthermore, there are a lot of other emotions that are normal when you have had cancer:

Sadness - You may have side effects that still impact your life. It is okay to feel sad if there are sports or activities that are hard for you to do. You may also still go to the hospital where you had cancer treatment sometimes, and seeing doctors to talk about cancer can feel upsetting.

Anxiety - Feeling anxious is a lot like feeling scared, except anxiety is about the future. Maybe you are going to start in a new classroom soon, and you are worried about other kids seeing a scar from cancer. When you find yourself thinking about bad things that might happen later on, that is anxiety.

Pride - When you went through cancer, you did really hard things! You may remember moments that made you feel proud, like sitting still for a needle poke. Your family can likely also tell you about moments that made them feel proud of you. During survivorship, you may also experience moments that make you feel proud of yourself!

Anger - When you had cancer, people made you do lots of things you did not want to do. It is normal to feel angry when you cannot control your body or your life. You may still have to go to extra doctor’s appointments or handle late effects. All of this is very frustrating, and you may feel angry.

Grief - Grief is a feeling that happens when you lose someone or something important to you. Kids lose a lot of things when they go through cancer. You may have missed birthday parties, sports games, or even time with your family. One of the most common things that kids lose during cancer treatment is their hair. It is normal to feel grief even if you experienced a loss a long time ago.

People who have had cancer feel many different emotions. You can talk about your feelings with someone you love. You can also draw pictures, sing songs, or play games to let your feelings out. If you feel like your emotions make it hard to be a kid, there are doctors who can help you feel better.

You’re A Cancer Survivor - What Does That Mean?

Everyone who has had cancer is called a survivor. They are called that because it takes a lot of strength to live life when you are very sick. Some people like to call themselves cancer survivors. Some people like to call themselves something else, or nothing at all (except their name!). Some people think about cancer and talk about cancer a lot. Some people do not think or talk about cancer very much unless they are at the doctor. It is okay to let cancer be a big part or a little part of your life. You can tell your friends and family what is important to you - remember, no one else is just like you.

No two cancer survivors have the same cancer story. There may be parts of your cancer story that you remember, and there are probably parts you do not remember. When someone is all done with cancer treatment, their doctors give them a Treatment Summary. A Treatment Summary is a document that includes details about: your diagnosis; treatments received; any side effects experienced from those treatments; names and titles of the people on your care team; and more. It is an essential document that is used to guide future follow-up care and to help monitor for long-term complications. It is a good idea to read your Treatment Summary at least once a year. This will help you learn more about your body and your health.

What Questions Do You Have?

Lots of kids have questions about cancer. Some of the most common ones are:

Why did I get cancer?

Why don’t other kids get cancer?

Will I die from cancer?

Will the cancer come back?

Why did I look different when I was getting cancer treatments?

Why does my body work differently than it did before cancer?

Does being a cancer survivor make me different from other kids?

It’s normal to feel nervous about asking questions. You may be worried about feeling sad when you hear the answer, or you might worry about upsetting your family when you ask. It’s important to know that many kids have the same questions you do, and your family might have similar questions, too. If your parents or grown ups can’t answer your question, they might know someone who can. At the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2), there are lots of people who know lots of things about childhood cancer. There is also the CAC2 Survivorship Toolkit, which has over 1,000 educational resources on various survivorship challenges and issues in 6 different categories - Educational Guidance and Planning; Insurance and Financial Health; Physical Health and Late Effects; Psychosocial and Emotional Health; Transitioning to Adulthood; and Wellness. You and your family can use the Toolkit to learn together about survivorship.

You Made It To The End!

Now that you have read this whole article, you have learned a lot about cancer. Your family and your doctors will likely talk to you about cancer sometimes, even if you do not really want to. All kids have to learn how to talk to doctors and take care of their health as they get older. Cancer is one part of your health that you will learn more about over time. It is always okay to ask questions and talk about big things that have happened in your past. It is also okay to tell your family and your doctors when you need something. Telling people what you need to stay healthy is called self-advocacy. You can practice self-advocacy at home and at the doctor. Remember that the CAC2 Survivorship Toolkit was made with you in mind, and there is lots of information about self-advocacy to help you now and as you get older.

Click here to explore the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2) Survivorship Toolkit.

Click here if you are interested in finding a therapist who understands what it means to be a childhood cancer survivor.

Copyright Cancer Cushion PLLC. The materials on this site do not constitute or replace therapy or mental health services and are provided for educational purposes only.  
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