What to do for a six year old whos dad has cancer?!

What to do for a six year old whos dad has cancer?

My best friends Daughter who is six years old, her dad had colon cancer a few years ago and they removed the colon and he was ok. Now they find out the cancer is back and it has spread to his pelvis area so today they did surgery to try and remove it. Come to find out the cancer is worse then they thought and has already spread to his bones. Only thing they say they can do now is chemo and hope it works. I know his chancer of making it are very slim and his daughter is only six so she does not understand completley but she does understand he may not be around that long. She has been very sad latley as anyone would be of course but what can you do to help a six year old in this situation?. Would buying her things be a good thing to do? Or just talk with her when she needs it?. Has anyone ever been threw this? And how did you help your child/children cope with it?. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I am a cancer patient. I have grown children but my grand-daughter was 9 when I had to tell her last July. It was like ripping my heart out of my chest. Chemo was hard on her cause grandma was always weak and sick and didn't play with her a lot. I called her every day no matter how I felt to let her hear me. I let her do most of the talking cause I just didn't have the strength. I now spend every Friday night and Saturday with her and we talk daily on the phone. Children just need to know you will help them if they need someone to talk to. Try inviting her to a play day to get her out of the "sick" house and give her and her parents a break. Go to the zoo, shopping, lunch, or even a picnic and walk in the park. It is your time that child needs now. Her parents will be overwhelmed with the diagnosis and treatment and she will not be center stage. At this age, that will be hard. Just be there for her, even if it is just a call every day to hear how it went. God bless you for thinking about this child.