October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and one Bay Area grandmother is sharing a message of hope for kids.

After seeing what her family was going through while her daughter-in-law battled cancer, Christine White wrote the book, “Cows on the Couch.” 

Now, it’s helping families across the world.

"Mommy says that she has cancer, is that a kind of ballet dancer?" said Christine White as she read from her book, Cows on the Couch. "Maybe she will take a chance, or maybe she will soon be free to play with me."

That’s where the story begins.  The White family remembers the day vividly. It was February 2015 when Ruth White found a lump in her breast. Her husband, Brian, works in the medical field and encouraged her to get it checked out.

“Unfortunately, it wasn't nothing, and it was stage 3 aggressive breast cancer,” said Christine.  

The family knew they had tough times ahead, and trying to explain cancer to Ruth’s daughters, Fia and Luna, was even harder.

“We were scared that we were going to scare her. What is cancer, what is a disease?  We didn't know what the outcome was going to be, though I always knew it was going to be good, but how do you explain that?” said Ruth White.

After searching for a children’s book dealing with cancer, and not finding anything ideal, Christine decided to write her own book.  As a retired English teacher, writing was no problem, so Christine drafted a poem, and “Cows on the Couch” was created.

Christine said Fia and Luna even helped with the book.  “We spent a lot of time together because Ruth was so ill.  We went through the initial drawings and I went over the words with them and we talked, chemo and surgery, all the things mommy was going through and was going to be facing.”

And throughout it all, the White family stayed strong.  Today, Ruth is in remission, and plans on spending a lot of time with her little cows on the couch.

On Saturday, October 22, Team White will walk for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer to help other families dealing with cancer.  You can make a donation, or even walk with the Whites.