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We are a small charity dedicated to supporting children and young people when a parent is diagnosed with cancer — and beyond — across the UK and Northern Ireland.
When cancer enters a family, so much of the focus naturally falls on the person receiving the diagnosis and undergoing treatment. But children and young people are affected too. Their routines can change, they may have worries and questions they don’t know how to express, and they can sometimes feel that there isn’t enough time or space for them while their parent is going through treatment.
That is where we come in.
Support packs for children and young people
We provide age-appropriate support packs completely free of charge, designed to help children and young people understand and navigate some of the emotions and experiences that can come with having a parent living with cancer.
Our packs are tailored to different ages and include resources that encourage children to express their feelings, ask questions and find ways to cope with what is happening around them.
Creating time out for families
We also provide funding for local respite activities, giving children and young people the opportunity to have some time away from the home environment with a trusted adult from their support network.
This gives children the opportunity to have fun, make memories and enjoy some normality, while also giving the parent undergoing cancer treatment an opportunity to have some much-needed time to rest as they navigate appointments, treatment and everything else that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
Additional support across North Wales
While our support packs and respite activities are available across the UK and Northern Ireland, we are based in North Wales, which means we are also able to offer additional support to families in our local area.
This includes our school holiday group sessions, where children and young people affected by a parent’s cancer can come together, meet others who understand what they are experiencing and take part in fun activities.
Our aim is simple: to make sure children and young people are not forgotten when cancer affects their Mum/Dad.
How to access our support
If you are a parent who has been diagnosed with cancer and have children aged 18 or under living with you, you will need to complete our referral form.
Once you have completed your section, page 2 needs to be completed by someone directly involved in your cancer diagnosis and treatment. This could be a member of your clinical team, such as a specialist nurse, consultant or another healthcare professional involved in your care.
Once we receive the completed referral form, we can take it from there. We will be in touch to discuss the support available and the next steps.
Are you a healthcare professional?
If you work within the cancer sector — whether that is in a cancer centre, hospital, ward or another cancer service — you can download our referral form and complete it either for the patient or alongside the patient.
Are you a school, college or support professional?
We also accept referrals from professionals supporting children and families.
If you are an education establishment, school, college, social worker, family support worker or another professional, you can download the referral form from our website.
As you are not directly involved in the parent’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, we will also require a clinical letter confirming the cancer diagnosis alongside the completed referral form.
This helps us ensure that we can provide support to families who meet our eligibility criteria.
English and Welsh referrals
Our referral forms can be completed in either English or Welsh.
If you are unsure whether our support is suitable for your family or have any questions about the referral process, please contact us. We are always happy to help and talk you through what you need to do.
We know that asking for support can sometimes feel daunting, especially when you are already dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Our aim is to make the process as straightforward as possible.We are here to help — and most importantly, we are here to make sure children, and young people are supported when cancer affects their family.
