When/how to tell my kids I am going to die?

I have two sons, 8 years and 4 years. I was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) when my 8 year old was 2 months old, so this has been going on for both of their entire lives. My 8 year old is aware that I have something called “cancer” but he doesn’t know much beyond that. My 4 year old doesn’t really know anything other than I go to the doctor a lot.I’ve greatly outlived the prognosis for GBM, and until this past summer, my disease really didn’t affect our lives at all. But I’ve now had 2 recurrences in the past 8 months, the most recent one was diagnosed only 2 weeks ago. I’ve have noticeable physical symptoms for the first time now too, I walk with a limp and have balance issues.Up until last summer, I had a real hope I’d get to live a normal life with my wife and kids, but now that doesn’t seem like a reasonable hope. I’m having gamma knife treatment next week, but if this recurs again quickly then I fear I’ll be gone by the end of the year.What do I tell them? I don’t think my 4 year old would understand the situation if I tried to explain it, but my 8 year old would understand it pretty well, if not fully. I am my 8-year old’s best friend, we do everything together, and my heart really breaks for him. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2TcidOw