Childhood Cancer

Childhood Cancer

Support groups for children with cancer

Many pediatric hospitals have ongoing support groups for children with cancer. Often these groups are run by experienced pediatric social workers or psychologists who know how to balance having fun with sharing feelings. For many children, these groups are the only place where they feel completely accepted, and where most of the other kids are bald and have to take lots of medicine. The group is a place where children or adolescents can say how they really feel, without worrying that they are causing their parents more pain. Many children form wonderful and lasting friendships in peer groups. Some support groups accommodate the whole family—the child or teen with cancer, siblings, and parents. The youngest children can play or do crafts with trained volunteers, while older kids have a chance to talk and share, and the parents can do likewise. This makes it possible for the whole family to go somewhere together and get to know other families on the childhood cancer journey.

Leah was 13 and her brother was 14 when she was diagnosed. The family support group was important for us, and they both liked talking to the parents as much as with the other teens. Having that group was Leah’s main way to deal with her cancer. She was treated only with surgery, she wasn’t on chemo and didn’t have radiation, so she didn’t look sick. But she had cancer and if it spread there wouldn’t be much we could do, so we needed to be with other families.