I am so sorry to hear this, and my heart goes out to your whole family.
Nothing will ever be the same again, regardless of outcomes. I was 34 when my father was diagnosed with cancer, and my sister and I took it hard. The thing is though…we understood every single thing that was happening, all the med-speak, all the discussions about treatments and prognosis - it was all crystal clear to us and may have made it that much more devastating.
Though your boy does need to know what’s happening and how he can help, perhaps not being able to understand all those details can be a blessing. He’ll be your rock and your bringer of hope.
Best of luck and I wish you all strength. Fuck cancer, indeed.
I’m so sorry, and I hope you get better news soon.
That said, a child psychologist can make things easier on a kid in a situation like this. I started seeing one myself at your son’s age when it became clear that my grandmother wasn’t going to go back into remission with breast cancer. I was close to her and her death was really hard but having a grown up to talk to that wasn’t preoccupied with their own grief was very valuable. And, unlike a preteen or teenage, a six or seven year old isn’t old enough to feel very weird about getting therapy.
Take care of yourself. The idea of growing up without a mother is, to me, horrifying. But it’s absolutely going to be worse for you, of the two. He will miss her, but he’s so young that he will forget a lot of it… you never will. 
I am so sorry for what you are going through, and you have my best wishes for good news for our wife and family in the next few days.
My own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was five, and lived after a very grueling period of treatment. To be very honest, I remember none of it. My parents tell me I spent a goodly amount of time at the hospital and many, many doctors’ offices, but I remember not one bit of it. I would strongly advise speaking with a counselor, therapist, religious leader if you are religious, or child psychologist to discuss not only your own feelings but how much and what to tell your son. Your son won’t need to know all the details, and a therapist can assist in the best way to discuss with him.
There’s no way you would have been able to keep your son’s life safe and perfect forever. This is a cruel and terrible way that the world has decided to introduce struggle into his world, but that is the way the world turns sometimes. But I can promise you this: No matter what happens, your son’s life is not ruined. It will not be the same, but if you continue to raise your son with love and care and the thoughtful resolve it seems like you have shown up until this day, he will eventually heal from this trauma and grief. Kids are very, very resilient. My godfather’s daughters were seven and ten when he died very suddenly and traumatically, and they are both well-adjusted women today. Yes, there was a lot of pain, and it was not easy, and their lives were very different and in many ways hard. But it did not ruin their lives.
I had to deal with a lot of loss at a young age–my beloved godfather when I was five, my grandmother at nine, my uncle at thirteen, several cousins in between–and my father is dying of cancer now, so I will lose him before I’m thirty. It is very terrible and hard, but the care and guidance of a loving parent cannot possibly be overstated. Please see if you can get someone–a counselor, a therapist, someone–to talk with your son and yourself throughout all of this. You are going to have a tremendously emotional few weeks coming up, and you need to put on your own oxygen mask before you can help those around you. Talking with someone who isn’t embroiled in grief and fear will help all of you (your wife, you, your son) immeasurably, and they can help with how to best discuss with your son.
My very best wishes to you and yours.
I am sorry to hear this. It sounds like you have a strong family and I wish you all the ability to rely on each other as this unfolds.
Reprieve. Unexpected (but welcome) guests stopped by, pushing our family time later than expected. We didn’t want to start the conversation too late. We have no problem keeping him up, but on the best days he wouldn’t last more than an hour or two, and so it was the right choice (for us) to wait. It’ll never be the perfect time, but for good or ill, not tonight.
Your kind words mean so much. Thank you. Thank you so very, very much.
So sorry to hear this, Rhythmdvl. I wish strength on your whole family.
I’m so sorry, and wish all of you strength, peace, and love.
I’m so sorry for your family to be facing this struggle. I’m sending the best of wishes for your wife to fight this and come through a victor, and for you to have the strength to carry her and your son through.
Wishing you best of luck.
Fuck cancer!
It’s heartbreaking to learn your family is going through this. Your son has a great foundation of security, love and togetherness to see him through the rough times ahead. I hope you get the best outcomes possible. Please keep us in the loop, as I will be thinking of you.
I’m so very sorry. I sincerely hope she is lucky and qualifies for surgery.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Very sorry to hear this. We all hold out hope for your family.
I am so very sorry to hear this news. Strength to you all.
You are smart to tell him. This won’t be the end of his childhood. Really.
Best of luck and hope to you and your family.
So very sorry to hear this. I wish the best of all possible outcomes to all of you.
I’m very sorry to hear the news.
One thing: some of your worry about how your son’s world will change might be displaced worry about your wife and your own world changing. Reasonable, but as said above, don’t assume that this bad news will end his happy childhood. It’s possible that it will just be a bad period, or even a reasonable fascimile of normal with some bad and scary moments.
Best of luck to you & yours.
So sorry to hear this news. I send you my thoughts of strength and comfort.
I am so, so sorry to hear this. Fuck cancer. (You can’t say that enough)
I am so very sorry. Hugs to you. I don’t know if you are religious or not, I am praying for you.
And yes. Fuck. Cancer.