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The David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center at Monmouth will present a free seminar designed to help brain tumor patients help their children cope with the effects of their illness.
A free seminar for parents sponsored by The David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Fund, “Talking With Your Children About Brain Tumors,“ will be presented on Monday, April 19, 2010 and will feature Jean Hartford-Todd, CCLS, the child life specialist at The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.Hartford-Todd provides support and education to adult patients with brain tumors and their family members regarding the needs of children and teenagers in the family.
The event is organized at Monmouth Medical Center by Judy Zocchi — whose late husband, David, died in December 2005 from brain cancer and for whom the center is named.
“Through this program, we will discuss children's understanding of this illness at different ages and how to talk with children about the illness and treatment in an age appropriate and honest manner,” Zocchi says. “We are very excited about bringing a nationally known expert from one of the largest and most respected brain tumor centers in the country to this program here at the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center at Monmouth Medical Center.”
Zocchi notes that Hartford-Todd also will address how to know when a child might benefit from getting ongoing professional support, and will address topics including how to talk to children about a brain tumor diagnosis, adjusting to changes in family dynamics, adapting to different roles and altered relationships and offering support to children during recurrence or tumor progression.
“The diagnosis of a brain tumor in a parent raises many thoughts and feelings in children,” Hartford-Todd says. “When that diagnosis is made even more complex by changes in the parent’s personality and behavior, including memory loss, irritability and lack of emotion, children can feel confused and distressed.”
The program will begin at 5:45 p.m. with registration, and the seminar and panel discussion will follow from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sandwiches and snacks will be provided.
Opened in 2007, the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center is the only facility at the Jersey Shore dedicated to the treatment and cure of brain and spinal cord tumors in adults. The center combines cutting-edge technology with a multidisciplinary expert team of health care professionals, led by Sumul Raval, Medical Director, to provide advanced treatment options and to enhance the quality of life of patients and their families.
To register for the program or to learn more about the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center, call 877-577-9800.
Date: April 2, 2010
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