Children’s book author gives children true look at cancer

Jenevieve Fisher was a 22-year-old college student, pursuing a career as a child psychologist for terminally ill children, when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, a type of cancer. It was difficult for Fisher’s kid sister Mallory, 20 years her junior, to understand why her big sister, who was always playing sports, was suddenly sick and beginning to lose her hair.

Jenevieve Fisher was a 22-year-old college student, pursuing a career as a child psychologist for terminally ill children, when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease, a type of cancer.

It was difficult for Fisher’s kid sister Mallory, 20 years her junior, to understand why her big sister, who was always playing sports, was suddenly sick and beginning to lose her hair.

“I had gone to the library and bookstore to find a book for her, but I couldn’t find a thing,” Fisher said. “All the books out at the time were about children dying from cancer. It was totally morbid.”

Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102)

She hit upon the idea of writing a book that would give young children a better understanding of cancer, but set it aside to fight her illness. Within a year, she had moved on with her life to become a radiation therapist, moving to Washington state, where she found the opportunity to work with the people who had treated her.

“It was perfect and amazing,” she said. “I loved all the people who had treated me. I learned so much as a patient, and turned around and applied that to the patients I was then treating.”

Following a stint at Swedish Hospital, Fisher landed a job at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to help children who came in for total body radiation treatments. This brought flashbacks of the same confused feeling her younger sister had about her cancer.

“There were kids coming in and asking the most basic questions, like they were missing something,” Fisher said. “These were kids with recurrent leukemia, and they had already gone through so much chemo, but were still confused and just not understanding at all what they were doing there.”

She decided to finally pursue the book that she first dreamt of writing 14 years earlier.

“The one thing I took away from working with these kids was that they wanted the truth,” Fisher said. “They don’t care if it’s going to hurt or if they’re going to lose their hair. They want to know why, when it going to come back and when they’re going to stop feeling sick.”

Initially wanting to write an adolescent book, Fisher found there were already many books geared toward teens and young adults, but not many for children 12 and younger.

Fisher began writing the first of her 10-book series on cancer and the different types of cancer, in children’s terms.

The first book in her series is a broad overview of cancer and what a child goes through once he or she is diagnosed.

The following 10 books are specific to the top ten cancers that children are prone to, along with a book called, “Nothing Sounds Good,” about the changes going on within a cancer patient’s body and why foods they use to love now taste terrible.

“All of the treatments and test are different,” she said. “The side affects are different. There are commonalities, but they’re different enough that it’s important that these kids who are diagnosed get a strong understanding of what to expect.”

Not only giving learning tools to children, Fisher also directs them to parents.

Fisher includes information that educates families about toxins that are thought to cause cancer, including food dyes, food packaging, toxins in carpet, furniture, cleaning products, make-up and more.

“I don’t want to educate them about what to do once these kids are sick,” she said. “I want them to know how to prevent it.”

Fisher started her own publishing company, Isaiah 11:6 Publishing Company and put ou her first book, “I’m a Kid Living With Cancer.” She plans a book tour this September.

She will also visit 32 different Children’s Oncology Group Hospitals in 17 cities in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. She hopes to hand out 1,000 goodie bags to children with cancer and their families. Goodie bags include gift cards, gas cards, movie tickets, stuffed animals, art supplies, books, games and coloring books.

“It’s not just for the kids with cancer, it’s for the whole family,” she said. “It makes people in the community feel good to donate to help families.”

Fisher hopes that doctors will begin to carry her series of books. Proceeds help support research for pediatric oncology.

To donate items for Fisher’s I’m a Kid Living with Cancer Book Tour goodie bags, call 1-888-isaiah-5.