When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it’s hard to know how we can help. After all, what can you say or do to alleviate the pain of something as big and scary as cancer? Believe it or not, there are valuable things we can do for these kids and their families as a community.
There’s no excuse not to help. There are ways for each of us to get involved in spreading hope, healing, and relief from the stresses of cancer treatment. Here are just a few things you can do!
6 Needs You Can Help Meet for Kids with Cancer
Need #1 – Emotional Support
Pediatric cancer patients and their families are going through the unimaginable. The emotions they feel run the gamut. While you may not be able to personally lend emotional support, you can still do plenty. Write cards of support and encouragement. Let them know you’re thinking of them. So many people fear saying the wrong thing and end up not saying anything. Help these families feel less alone and express your support.
Need #2 – Practical Help
The added stress of cancer treatment and all its appointments and procedures can throw a family routine out of whack. So many times, parents need practical help! Mow their lawn. Offer to wash and fold laundry. Pick up their groceries. No matter what your relationship with the family is, there are things you can do to offer tangible, practical help that eases the burdens of everyday life.
Need #3 – Financial Aid
While there are programs and children’s hospitals that do a fantastic job of easing or eliminating the burden of cancer treatment, many families still face financial hardship. We can organize fundraising events, create donation drives, or set up crowdfunding campaigns to help cover medical expenses, transportation costs, and other financial burdens. Even if you can’t donate monetarily, you can use your time, talent, and passion to encourage others to do so.
Need #4 – Being a Kid Again
Something of childhood gets lost when cancer enters the picture. Treatment and its side effects can strip away a sense of self and belonging. As a community, we can help these kids feel like kids again. We can organize fun activities – community festivals and play days, parades, and even destination trips – for families facing pediatric cancer. Invite the family over for a game night. Go to the movies. Advocate for accessibility on playgrounds and child-oriented activities. Give age-appropriate gifts. There are a million ways to help kids with cancer reclaim their childhood!
Need #5 – Long-Term Support
The unfortunate reality is this: outward support for kids with cancer often dries up within the first year of diagnosis. If you’ve ever dealt with cancer, you know that treatment and recovery can take far longer. These families don’t just need help in the beginning. They need a constant, ongoing framework for support. Be the person who sends a card two years into their cancer journey. Be the one still offering household help months after the initial rush.
Cancer is a long-haul disease, and it demands compassionate, long-term engagement.
Need #6 – Awareness and Advocacy
In part, the community can honor the kids with cancer they know by raising awareness, engaging in advocacy efforts, and getting personally involved in the medical efforts to treat and cure cancer. Donate to pediatric cancer research. Take part in fundraisers. Become a blood, bone marrow, or organ donor. Stop letting cancer be a dirty word. Talk about it. Educate yourself and your children. Know warning signs. Consider how you can support and accommodate these families in your career and personal life.
At the end of the day, the community plays an instrumental role in the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families. A robust support network improves outcomes, period! Let’s not make the mistake of thinking we can’t help. When the community comes together to love, support, and listen to kids with cancer and their families, it spreads light, love, and hope that is so needed in these dark times.
At the end of the day, we can only kick cancer when we work as a team!