In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Shauna Rae, star of the TLC show “I Am Shauna Rae” has partnered with Aflac to spread more awareness about the importance of emotional support for children and families undergoing cancer treatment.
Treating children with cancer not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Shauna, who knows firsthand how empathy and kindness play an important role in cancer treatment and recovery, is helping Aflac share information about My Special Aflac Duck and tips on how to emotionally support children going through cancer treatment.
Shauna Rae Teams Up With Aflac To Spread Awareness
Shauna Rae – Instagram
Shauna fully understands the role empathy plays in cancer treatment and recovery and partnered with Aflac to help spread awareness in September in conjunction with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Shauna was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly after birth and underwent chemotherapy which affected her growth hormones.
“I was born with brain cancer. At 6 months, it was diagnosed. I had immediate surgery and chemotherapy and later in life at the age of 16, I was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism,” he told The Blast exclusively.
“So, my whole journey was very focused on that physical effect. And a lot of the social, mental, emotional toll that takes place is overshadowed by surviving and dealing with my dwarfism. That’s why I’m here today with Aflac to bring awareness to the emotional, social and mental impact childhood cancer can have beyond just the physical impact and survivorship.”
Shauna Rae – Instagram
Shauna wants everyone to understand that there are emotional tolls that come with having cancer and that having a support system, empathy and understanding is important.
“When talking about the emotional impact that comes with cancer, people in the community, people who are in the medical side of the community, family members or people who are in daily contact with these people, it can be very important that you have that support system,” he said. .
“For them to be positive, for them to be like emotionally stable because overall going through cancer can be a very lonely feeling, and that’s why the community and things like My Special Aflac Duck are so important to make a child or make a cancer patient or a cancer fighter, they understand won’t go through this alone. Their feelings are understood and not dismissed.”
My Special Aflac Ducks Help Kids in Many Ways
Courtesy of Shauna Rae
My Special Aflac Duck helps children go through treatment for cancer or other illnesses in a variety of ways. It has been given to over 24,000 children so far.
“It benefits these children’s emotional and social cues because it allows them to express their feelings,” Shauna told The Blast. “It allows them to have an animatronic or robotic duck that relates to that emotion and has that emotional cue. It can help calm them down when they’re nervous. It has a heartbeat and it’s just something that makes you feel like you’re not fighting alone.”
According to the Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign website, “These gentle and friendly friends help children prepare for medical procedures, communicate their feelings, practice distraction techniques and more.”
Courtesy of Shauna Rae
“I think it’s important to know that Aflac has done so much to help with the integration of cancer patients into the real world, and dealing with all the treatment and all the social and mental and just all the things that you don’t do. think about that comes with cancer,” continued Shauna.
“Aflac is really trying to target, as well as work on survival, and the physical toll. They created My Special Aflac Duck that helps kids relate to their feelings with people outside of them — their doctors, their family, their friends — and also helps kids it doesn’t feel alone and it gives them comfort during their treatment which is very important.”
Dr James Klosky Reiterates The Importance Of Caring For The Emotional Side Of Childhood Cancer
Kathy Wolfe
Dr. James Klosky, Pediatric Psychologist at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, also explained the importance of not ignoring the emotional side of childhood cancer.
“We’re talking today about some of the developmental disorders that often occur with children who have or are currently undergoing treatment for cancer. For example, if they are diagnosed with leukemia, they are literally in and out of the hospital for three years. Developmentally, they will miss some of the normal experiences that we have in middle school or that we have in high school,” he explained.
“So one of the things that we’re talking about that’s really important is when kids in our community interact with childhood cancer survivors to really lead with kindness. There is no question that childhood cancer diagnosis and childhood cancer treatment can be traumatic for patients and families. But many of our survivors also report things like dramatic post-treatment growth and resilience.”
At the Aflac Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, tolerance, acceptance and inclusion can help survivors integrate into their communities after cancer treatment and help them resume their lives with possible disruptions.
“Really, so often with our kids, of course, we take a developmental perspective that, we work with 3-year-olds differently than we work with 10-year-olds, than we work with 10-year-olds. 18 years. . We really hear the message that people want as much as possible to get back to a more typical and normal life,” he continued. “So whatever we can do to support that and help patients meet whatever their personal goals are, at Aflac, we are prepared for that and work with not only patients but families as well.”
Shauna Rae Plans To Continue Bringing Awareness Through Various Ways
Shauna Rae – Instagram
Through two seasons of her hit TLC show, “I Am Shauna Rae,” the 24-year-old has been able to spread awareness and educate her fans about childhood cancer and life after cancer. He hopes to continue that with his partnership with Aflac.
“I think overall, the show came as it is now and builds that awareness because we want to make a difference and I want to show the world that you can make a positive impact and survive cancer but still deal with the physical, mental, social, emotional that goes along with it.” your life You don’t have to live so negatively, and you don’t have to live in fear,” he told The Blast.
“When the show touches the whole world, it really hits home and raises awareness and that’s why I continue to work with Aflac to raise awareness for cancer and sickle cell patients, because at the end of the day, the more awareness we have out there , the better the other intelligent society in education and the more empathy we have for each other that is so necessary.”
When asked if there would be a third season, Shauna said she couldn’t talk about it at the moment, but the priority remains the same – “raising awareness, making sure people with disabilities, people who are different, people who feel like they are’ Outcasts know that there is a supportive community out there and they can always find the bright side.”
Shauna keeps her mission strong by using her social media pages as she often answers fan questions to help educate people as best she can. With an active TikTok and Instagram page, she reaches over a million people with her informative videos, photos and captions.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
