Talking to children about cancer, and fundraisers surrounding the disease, is important

The words "Aim High for the Cure" stand out across Lyana Lafuente's T-shirt. Her fist is thrust into the air over her head.

Snap, a picture is taken. It memorializes her celebration forever.

It's a celebration of success, for both her and her school. As Dyess Elementary's coach and physical education teacher, she pushed the sale of those shirts to help raise money for The Hope Fun at Hendrick Medical Center.

The fund ensures that no one in a community goes without a mammogram because of not being able to afford one.

Drew Davis, a child life specialist, demonstrates Tuesday the unique doll she uses for teaching children about cancer treatments at Hendrick Medical Center. Beside the doll are cloth faces that attach using VELCRO-like fasteners for depicting emotional states.

The effort raised $823. Small (in the context of other breast cancer fundraisers), but significant.

How did she handle talking about it with her students, especially the youngest at 5 and 6 years old?

At their level, she said.

"We told the students that this money goes to help people who can't afford (mammograms)," Lafuente said. "We didn't even mention breast cancer to them, just cancer."

Tristan Mendoza, left, marks a lap around Dyess Elementary's makeshift running course complete with the help of the school's music teacher, Alan Jones, during the school's cancer awareness run Oct. 4. Tristan, a fourth-grade student, sports a T-shirt designed specifically for Dyess Elementary, which the school sold in September as a fundraiser for The Hope Fund at Hendrick Medical Center.

Keep it simple

Each Thursday, she said, she runs a health class lesson for the different grade levels. When they get to the sections about cancer, they handle several topics.

With the older students, she said, they talk about what cancer cells are and how they affect the body. The Abilene Independent School District has allowed these classes to use a cellphone application called BrainPOP, which Lafuente said her third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students use to learn more about the topic.

With the younger students, it's just talking. And that's appropriate, too, said Hendrick Medical Center Child Life Specialist Drew Davis.

Davis's job, essentially, is to help children understand hospitals in a way that decreases anxiety and fear. This includes cancer diagnosis, be it for the child she's dealing with, the child's family or even classmates.

Most of the time she accomplishes this by relating it to their level, be it through play or terms the students can comprehend.

Kassidy Kelley, left, joins classmates Dawn Celeste Cannon and Avriell Perez, fourth-grade students at Dyess Elementary, for a lap around the school's makeshift course Oct. 4. While every Friday is running day at the school, this run was extra special because it served to raise awareness for cancer, including breast cancer symbolized by the pink ribbon.

"Cancer can be a scary word," Davis said. "Because they only associate it with someone they've known who maybe died or got real sick. So when we talk to them, we tell them things like 'Mommy has some sick cells in her body and we're going to give her medication to help the cells get better.'"

Aside from using words the children are more likely to understand, it's important to physically be at their eye level for such a serious conversation, she said.

Allowing the children to ask questions is also important.

"Even if (the adult) doesn't have the answer, it's important they feel they can ask the question," Davis said. "And it's OK to not know the answer. If you don't know, you can tell them you don't know and that you can find out the answer."

Cancer run

It's Oct. 4. Lafuente isn't alone in her picture. She's surrounded by fellow Dyess teachers, school staff and, most importantly, a plethora of students.

They've all thrust their fists skyward.

After finishing with the check presentation, it's back to the business of school. Though this day is a little special.

Lafuente organized a special run for her students.

Every Friday, the students at Dyess run. This is no different, except they're decked out in some form of pink.

Fourth-graders make their way to the starting spots, set up behind the school based on their regular classroom. Music, art and other specialty teachers join Lafuente to help keep track of the students while some parents join their children.

Lafuente yells for the students to "GO!"

They take off. Leading the students reminds Lafuente of why the "Pink Out" event at Dyess is so special to her.

Fourth-grader Haylee Cogar, left, marks another lap around their school's running course complete with classmates Samuel Stroman and Nevaeh Solis at Dyess Elementary.

She's come into contact with many women who have suffered.

One, a friend and fellow coach from the Houston area — where she's from, made a lasting impact on her after a coaches clinic in Arlington.

"I didn't even recognize her," Lafuente said. "I had no idea she'd had breast cancer."

Since that clinic, Lafuente has vowed to make sure there's some sort of "Pink Out" event everywhere she's taught.

Built to help

In a classroom setting, Davis must be able to relate to a group of children. She's there to talk to them about cancer.

The students she's visiting with ask her a series of questions.

"Can I touch him?"

"What if she coughs on me?"

"Can I get cancer, too?"

Davis said she's asked these question all of the time.

"I explain how cancer is not contagious," she said. "That you can play with Johnny on the playground and you're not going to get sick. How it's not like the flu or a cold."

When talking about cancer, Davis also has a bit of a visual aide. She relies on it a lot.

Dyess Elementary physical education teacher Lyana Lafuente shows her fourth-grade students how to mark a lap complete on their sheets of paper before they ran around the school's makeshift course Oct. 4. Lafuente organized the run Friday to honor breast cancer survivors and those who've lost the battle, while selling shirts to help make an $823 donation to Hendrick Medical Center's The Hope Fund.

It's a doll, built with a bald head, a smile and, under a removable chest flap, an actual port.

Most of the time, it's helpful when she's talking to a pediatric cancer patient who's about to undergo treatment for the first time.

Sam — the doll's name — helps her demonstrate the port, where it's located and how it works. It has a wig, so she can address chemotherapy's tendency to cause hair loss.

And it has several emotional faces that use hook-and-loop fasteners to change the doll's expressions. It helps her converse about happiness, sadness and what the treatment does, whether to them or to their family.

Do they understand it all? Maybe not, she said. But it's important to try.

"I think we underestimate children a lot," Davis said. "Although the youngest may not understand what cancer is, I think they're able to understand that cancer means you're sick. And for them to know people will get help when they're sick is great."

A charge to act

Davis said it's great for students to be out there helping to raise money for cancer causes.

It's "super positive," she said, in community building among the youth.

"Them wanting to help at such a young age is great," she said. "But it also helps dispel myths about cancer. And it's important to show that when someone's sick, we're going to help them."

Based in Abilene, Timothy Chipp covers education and general news for the Reporter-News. If you appreciate his work and that of the rest of the staff, please consider supporting local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com