Ask CancerCare

Families with children undergoing cancer treatment often face overwhelming financial costs. In addition to the medical costs, many parents find that their child’s intense treatment schedule can lead to loss of income and other unexpected expenses such as transportation and lodging.

There are a number of national organizations that can provide limited financial assistance for treatment-related expenses, including CancerCare and the National Children’s Cancer Society. You may want to recommend that your friend contact these organizations directly to find out if their family is eligible for assistance. You may also refer them to our fact sheet, Financial Assistance for Children and Teenagers.

It can be challenging to find help with daily expenses, such as rent, utilities and food. There may be local organizations that provide assistance for families facing serious childhood illnesses. The best way to learn about these local organizations is often the social worker at the child’s cancer treatment center. You may want to recommend that your friend find out more about local resources by dialing 211. This number will connect to the local United Way, which can link families to community programs.

Your friend is fortunate to have your support, as cancer treatment can place significant stress on a family. One of the easiest ways that you can help your friend and reduce the stress on this family is to provide practical support. You may want to ask this person directly if there are other ways you can help their family, such as offering to provide child care if there are siblings or running an errand. This type of practical assistance from a friend can provide a measure of relief to caregivers.

A cancer diagnosis has a profound effect on families, and a childhood diagnosis comes with its own unique challenges. It can be difficult to talk to young children about cancer, and to know how to help them communicate their feelings and fears. Your friend may want to check out CancerCare’s fact sheet Supporting a Child With Cancer.

CancerCare’s professional oncology social workers can also help in locating additional financial assistance and provide support and resources around caregiving for a child with cancer (800-813-4673).