Dr Karen Singh, radiation oncologist at Netcare Alberton, Netcare Park Lane and Netcare Milpark hospitals, holds her new book, "Mama's Garden of Hope," created to help children understand a parent's cancer journey through gentle metaphors and age-appropriate explanations.
When a parent or loved one is diagnosed with cancer, children often become the silent witnesses to the disease. They strain to understand whispered conversations, fill knowledge gaps with their worst fears, and shoulder emotional burdens that no one realises they are carrying.
Dr Karen Singh, a radiation oncologist practising at Netcare Alberton, Netcare Park Lane, and Netcare Milpark hospitals, has witnessed this heartbreak unfold throughout her years of treating cancer patients. Watching children hover at the edges of consultations—desperate to understand but excluded from the conversation—she realised these young family members needed their own way to process what was happening.
This inspired Mama’s Garden of Hope, a book that helps children understand cancer treatment through gentle metaphors and explanations, making them feel included rather than isolated.
One particular moment crystallised the need for this project. During a routine consultation, Dr Singh noticed a young girl sitting outside her office with a colouring book.
