Draper family shares struggles with cancer in new children’s book ‘Cancer – Once Upon a Family’

Craig Nelson was only a child when he was diagnosed with cancer. The Nelson family watched Craig battle the disease for two years before he succumbed to it. It was a difficult time for the family to watch him struggle. Although Craig passed away in 1999, his vibrant spirit lives on in a new children’s book, “Cancer – Once upon a Family”.

Tina Nelson wrote the book with the help of her son, Chris after Craig passed away. For Tina, it was a chance to not only work through the pain of losing her son, but to also provide a resource for other families going through the same struggle.

“When Craig was diagnosed, we looked for literature to help us deal with what he was going through. We couldn’t find anything,” she said. “We wrote this for families who have a child going through this.”

Craig was diagnosed in 1997 with Neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer that usually affects young children. The book outlines the two year struggle with chemotherapy and eventually death. Tina said writing the book was difficult but the family found it therapeutic to put into words what they went through.

“Chris and I started working on the book six months after Craig passed away,” she said. “It was hard to do but it felt good knowing we could possibly help someone who is going through it.”

The book is written in a way that’s easy for children to understand. In addition to being a resource for families, it’s also designed to open up the dialogue about cancer and make it a little easier to talk about, she said.

Craig’s story was published as an e-book and released on June 15. It is available anywhere e-books can be purchased. Tina said this book was a labor of love for her family and helped them work through the emotions they faced while they went through Craig’s cancer. Chris helped write the book and worked on it for several years after Craig’s death. Tina’s nine-year old daughter, Cassidy, who was born after Craig passed away, helped with the illustrations.

“We wanted the family to take part in this book and have input on what went into it,” Tina said. “This is a hard subject and I think that’s why there isn’t a lot out there about it.”

Over the two years Craig struggled with chemotherapy, Tina said she had a hard time explaining what was going on to Chris, who was eight-years old. There wasn’t a lot available that Chris could read to try to understand what was happening to his brother.

Although the book deals with one family’s struggle with childhood cancer, Tina said it’s appropriate for anyone who has lost someone to cancer.

“It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t been affected by cancer,” she said. “We want people to know that they aren’t alone, that others have gone through what they are dealing with and that there are resources out there to help younger children understand what is going on.”