Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy DD6 Near-Obsessive Interest in Cancer

Thank you for all the replies. They are helpful and appreciated.

I'm baffled about how she developed this interest in cancer. We've had no personal experience with cancer in recent years. I'm unaware of any shows she has watched about cancer. I know her interest in polio developed from seeing an iron lung in a museum.

She does tend to be a little anxious. She has severe food allergies, and the reality of her life, is anxiety-provoking. Her life requires constant vigilance, and we live with the knowledge that mistakes, regardless of how innocent or well-intended, risk serious consequences.

These replies have been quite helpful to me in realizing that we probably need to have a moratorium on medical-related shows in our house. I'm realizing that I'm seeing a pattern of her getting anxious about medical-related issues, and some of these have been sparked by TV shows, though I don't know if a show is behind the cancer interest.

I like the idea of trying to segue her interest away from cancer towards something like medical research, which hopefully also will help reassure her. She had an allergist she was extremely fond of who also did a lot of medical research.

I appreciate the book recommendation. I cannot begin to answer all her questions, and a background on the medical advances may help me steer her toward medical research as an interest. I did tell her that the reason we are applying to Davidson is because they help kids develop their talents so that they can do things like discover cures for cancer. (We submitted applications and are awaiting a response.)

Thank you so much again for these helpful responses.