• Before back-to-school is in full swing, plan ahead and know what your work's illness policy is.
• Know who you can rely on to pick your sick kid up from school if you can't get time off.
• This article is part of "The Working Parents Back-to-School Survival Guide," a series of real-life tips for navigating the school season.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dr. Angela Mattke, a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Children's. It has been edited for length and clarity.

It's kind of a whirlwind that first day—going back to school, getting up on time, getting them fed, getting them out the door.

I have two boys. One is almost 13 and in middle school, and the other is 10 in elementary.

My husband and I are both working parents, and we miss a lot of school events because we cannot take time off. So, instead, we started a tradition that's made back-to-school more fun for everyone.

My husband and I both take off work, and we all go out for breakfast. Then, while the kids are at school, my husband and I have a date, which is great.

My 3 go-to items for back-to-school

• Honey to help soothe coughs.
• Some good soap and hand sanitizers, so if people are getting sick, you can prevent the spread.
• Healthy prepackaged snacks so kids can stay full and aren't tempted by unhealthy options.

How to plan for back-to-school germs

Back to school is a common time for families to get sick, and I recommend that working parents, especially, plan ahead.

Know what your work's illness policy is and get your bench lined up of the people that you might need to rely on for those situations. Who is going to pick your kid up from school if you can't leave work, and who can take care of them if you can't get time off?

I also recommend having a few items, like thermometers, some OTC medications, and sanitizing agents, on hand so you won't have to run out to the store in the middle of the night.

Keep acetaminophen and ibuprofen readily available for aches and pains—just make sure you know which one you're giving because you don't want to give both.

For coughs and congestion, my family likes to have honey and nasal spray on hand. We avoid cough medicines and decongestants since they have not been shown to be effective, especially in young children, and they can have side effects. Any store-bought honey should help soothe a cough, just don't give it to any child under 1 year old.

We also enforce good hand hygiene and make sure to have soap and hand sanitizers around the house, so if people are getting sick, we can better prevent spread among family members.

The 1 thing I tell all parents

I cannot emphasize enough to all parents the importance of ensuring their kids' immunizations are up to date well before school starts.

The other thing is to think ahead for fall and schedule your and your family's flu and COVID vaccinations, ideally before November. We know that those vaccinations reduce the likelihood of getting sick, the severity of illness if you do get sick, and the days spent away from school and work.

I also recommend buying a couple of those influenza and COVID test kits that you can do at home, so you can try to figure out what's going on with your kid. Those kits cost a lot less than what they would charge at your healthcare institution.

How else I keep my kids healthy for back-to-school

I would say in general, the most important thing that you can help do to strengthen your kid's immune system, besides getting them vaccinated, is making sure they eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep and physical activity.

Eating fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains in moderation will be more effective than any over-the-counter supplement at keeping kids healthy. I get asked a lot about elderberry, vitamin C, and probiotic supplements. We avoid these in our family since they're effectiveness lacks strong pediatric evidence.

When it comes to probiotics, I'd rather my kids eat fermented foods and foods with probiotics. One of the first foods I ever gave my kids was kefir, a fermented drink similar to milk but that tastes more sour. Instead of mixing cereal with milk, they mix it with kefir, which provides lots of different probiotics for a strong gut microbiome.

I also like to meal prep their lunches for the week, which helps reduce stress. I usually cut up veggies and fruits on the weekend so they're ready to go for meals and snacks when the kids are on the go, which is often.

My eldest is in a lot of sports and usually wants something to eat the minute he gets into the car after practice. Washing hands is super important after sports, so I like to keep baby wipes and sanitizer on hand in the car. He also carries some hand sanitizer with him.

Nobody wants their lives disrupted by illness, especially during back-to-school when life can feel a bit chaotic. While there's a lot we cannot control, staying up-to-date on immunizations, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and keeping some key medications and sanitizing items on hand can help prevent or reduce your number of sick days ahead.

• Eric Morrow was diagnosed with severe prostate cancer at age 49.
• He had no symptoms aside from a slightly enlarged prostate that showed up during a colonoscopy.
• His primary care physician never tested him for prostate cancer despite Morrow's family history.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eric Morrow, a prostate cancer survivor, US Air Force veteran, and volunteer advocate for Zero Prostate Cancer, a nonprofit focused on supporting patients and eliminating prostate cancer. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer on June 8, 2021, at 49. It was shortly before my 50th birthday.

I'll admit I did not know a lot about prostate cancer then. I knew it was fairly common and, to the best of my knowledge at the time, I thought it primarily affected older men in their 70s and 80s.

Five years prior, in 2016, I'd learned that my father had previously had prostate cancer and that he was in remission after being successfully treated.

So, the next time I saw my primary care physician, who was assigned to me through the Air Force, I told her about my family history and asked if I should get checked for prostate cancer.

She said that I was too young and didn't need to worry about getting screened until my 50s.

The phone call that probably saved my life

In 2020, my PCP said I was old enough to have a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer. That's when it all started.

After my colonoscopy, the gastroenterologist said my colon looked great, but my prostate looked a little enlarged, and I should schedule an appointment with a urologist.

I had no other symptoms to suggest I had prostate cancer. Also, this was during the height of the pandemic. I got distracted by work and didn't make the appointment immediately.

I was really lucky that the doctor called me back a month later to see if I'd seen the urologist. It was a really simple follow-up, but that phone call prompted me to make the appointment and probably saved my life.

My PSA level was in the hundreds

The urologist scheduled me for a digital rectal exam and an MRI, and then drew my blood for a PSA test, which measures specific proteins in the blood to identify possible prostate cancer.

I got a call a few hours later about my PSA level. I was told that anything over four would be a concern for a man of my age. My PSA level was 225.

The urologist said there could be many reasons for my extremely high PSA levels, but a later biopsy revealed that I had prostate cancer with a Gleason score, which measures how aggressive the cancer is, of nine. The highest the scale goes is 10.

I got the trifecta of treatment: surgery, radiation, and pills

I was lucky enough that the Department of Defense's Center for Prostate Disease Research at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was nearby, and my case was aggressive enough to qualify for their treatment.

There, I had a cancer team including a urologic oncologist and radiation oncologist who recommended a multi-step treatment involving surgery, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy to turn off testosterone production in my body.

I started surgery in July 2021, after which I had issues with incontinence. Despite physical therapy to improve it, I never regained full control of my bladder. This made the radiation therapy, which came about five-and-a-half months later, very challenging.

Each time, I had to come in with an empty rectum and a full bladder. The full bladder basically pushes the rectum, so it's not as much in the field where they're going to shoot with radiation.

Each of the 39 radiation sessions I completed only lasts about 15 minutes, but I had a hard time getting my bladder full enough and then holding it long enough for the therapy.

To get through it, I'd play a game with myself: They had music going, and I would just listen to the music and try to memorize it. Then, I went on Facebook afterward and posted a list of all the songs — it became my "Playlist of the day" for friends and family.

The androgen deprivation therapy, aka hormone therapy, was a shot that I got every three months, along with pills that I was taking every day. I did this therapy for about 24 months.

The side effects were pretty harsh. I experienced hot flashes, mood swings, additional abdominal fat, loss of muscle mass and bone density, and it killed my libido. I got back into lifting weights that I hadn't been doing for probably more than a decade, and that helped minimize some of the weight gain and muscle loss.

Since coming off hormone therapy, my testosterone has luckily gone back to pre-treatment levels, and my PSA level has remained undetectable.

I quit my job after getting cancer

I wouldn't wish cancer on anybody, but the one thing it does give you is perspective. I realized I wanted to do something more.

So in December of 2022, I left my job with a medical device company I'd been with for over nine years. I was ready to give back to the prostate cancer community.

I'm now doing a lot of work on a year-round basis with Zero Prostate Cancer. I also volunteer at Walter Reed, where I received my cancer treatment.

I also speak with new prostate cancer patients and try to give them hope. I tell them, "Four years ago, I was sitting right where you are and I thought I was going to die. But I'm still here, and I'm doing OK."