Teacher believes unusual step is help to him and students

Published on Wednesday 21 January 2009 08:44

BREAKING the devastating news of their illness to family and friends is one of the most difficult things anyone diagnosed with cancer has to do.

But for one man, it didn't stop with telling his loved ones.

City headmaster John Elder took the unusual step of deciding to tell the 300 pupils in his school that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

He took the view that honesty was the best policy, and hoped he could tackle any misconceptions young people had about cancer.

Mr Elder, who has been headmaster for 24 years, said in his experience, teachers with life-threatening illnesses tried to hide it from their pupils, and he didn't know anyone else who had taken this approach.

But he believes talking about his illness has not only helped the pupils at the fee-paying Cargilfield Prep School, but also helped him in his battle against cancer.

Mr Elder, 56, said: "I decided a day or two after I was diagnosed that I would tell everybody at school. I decided it would be much easier for them and me if I was open and honest with them.

"My pupils knew everything about my illness from day one. I explained cancer to the children and told them about the treatments I would have and the side-effects. That meant that when I lost my hair they didn't think it was strange, they just accepted it. As I have worked with children for years, it just seemed natural to be upfront with them."

The pupils at the Barnton Avenue West school, which caters for children up to 13, have already experienced a cancer death, as the husband of one of their teachers passed away last May. Some of the children also have their own personal experiences.

Mr Elder, who was diagnosed last February and is awaiting the all-clear, thought it was important to tell children about the treatments available and to make them aware that people can recover.

The father-of-three said: "So many of them will be touched by cancer at some stage, so I wanted to try and get over that not everyone dies from it.

"Although I'm not trying to hide the fact that people will die – and I myself might – it's no longer what it was, with more and more research being done. We wanted them to know that a lot of people who have cancer now live. Children often have a much bleaker view of the illness than the facts merit."

Mr Elder's upfront approach has been welcomed by parents and he has received an enormous amount of support.

In between his chemotherapy sessions, he was joined by 450 pupils and parents on a 17km charity walk which raised 15,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mr Elder has now backed a Macmillan campaign, called Cancertalk Week, to encourage teachers, parents and youth leaders to talk to young people openly about cancer.

The charity has produced teaching packs containing information appropriate for primary and secondary school pupils.

Macmillan's director in Scotland, Elspeth Atkinson, said: "We think it's important that children know the facts around cancer and that adults are willing and able to answer the questions many of them have."

Mr Elder, who completed his treatment in September and has another scan in March, added: "Without a doubt, you couldn't be in a better job in terms of being diagnosed with cancer because you have so many people supporting you that you can't help be motivated by it."