Purpose: Cancer is a physical disease but it has mental and social components. Itis usually perceived as an illness that suggests death involving feelings of guilt,panic, hostility, aggression, anxiety, loneliness, and helplessness. It was reportedthat 50% of the parents of cancer patients had psychiatric disorders and that 73% ofthese were depressive disorders. The main reason for the anxiety is the close association of the illness with death and a lack of knowledge about childhood cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes and anxiety levelof mothers regarding childhood cancers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 300 mothers of children who presented to Kırıkkale University, Medical School, Pediatrics Department and two health centers in central Kırıkkale. Questionnaires consistingof 38 questions were completed by a research assistant by face-to-face interviewsafter permission was obtained from the mothers. The mothers’ knowledge was regarded as good if 8-10 of the 10 knowledge questions about cancer were answered correctly, while 4-7 indicated moderate knowledge and 0-3 poor knowledge. Results: At least one cancer patient in their close community was known to 40.3%of the mothers. Information on cancer was mostly obtained from healthcare centers (20.7%), themedia (35.3%), friends and relatives (10.7%), or both the media and friends andrelatives (33.3%). The most widely known childhood cancers were leukemia andlymphoma. The rate of cancer screening among the participants was 7.3% (n= 22).There was no significant correlation between having a family member with cancerand undergoing screening for cancer (p>0.05). The three main reasons for cancerwere stated as smoking, food, and alcohol. The rate of smoking among the motherswas 57% and smoking was more common among mothers with less knowledgealthough this difference was not statistically significant. Twenty-three percent ofthe participants thought that cancer could not be treated.Mostly mothers stated that they would feel great sorrow and would experience gre- at anxiety if they had a child with cancer. Only 22.7% of the mothers had sufficientknowledge about cancer. Anxiety on a subject exists when the level of informationis inadequate. However, we found no correlation between the anxiety levels andthe level of information about cancer among the mothers. Moreover, 71.7% of themothers stated that they would not tell their child if he or she were diagnosed withcancer, while 7.7% said that they would not know what to do in that situation. Conclusion: The level of kowledge about cancer among the public is inadequateand thisresults in subjective value judgments, which directly influence anxiety levels. Therefore, parents need to be informed more extensively about the preventionand treatment of cancer to decrease their anxiety.