Suddenly, the promise of a young life with a future of hopes and dreams is gone. This simply does not make sense and goes against how we expect normal life to be. The loss of a child is intense and profound.
In most cases, the child or adolescent with cancer will have been cared for by the same multi-disciplinary team (MDT) including Consultants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Health Play Specialists, Community Team and more, from diagnosis through to death.
Regardless of the location of death (hospital, hospice or at home), these people will have remained a constant (distance permitting) and, in most cases, will continue to see the family (or support them by telephone) if they wish, after the death of their child.
Whenever possible, pre-bereavement work such as memory making is done by the care team to prepare the child or young person, their siblings and family for their death (Clarke and Connolly, 2022). This can be done in or outside of the hospital setting. If it has not been possible to do some memory hand and footprints before death, the teams will usually be able to help the family arrange this, either in hospital, hospice or funeral directors.
Assistance will be given with next steps, such as finding a funeral director if needed and with the funeral arrangements. The child or young person will normally have a key worker allocated; usually either the Clinical Nurse Specialist or Oncology Nurse who knew the child well, who will stay in contact for an agreed period of time after the child’s death.
Similarly, if the local Children’s Hospice has been involved, the family support team will usually offer bereavement support to families.
Each individual team will have their own unique way of commemorating each child’s journey whether it be a memory box, candle lit service, tree planting or remembrance book.
Further resources and reading
- CCLG Bereavement Support webpage
- Winston's Wish - the leading childhood bereavement charity in the UK, offering support and guidance to bereaved children, families and professionals
- Child Bereavement UK - supporting families and educating professionals when a child dies and when a child is bereaved; they offer helpful educational videos
References
Clarke, T. and Connolly, M. (2022). ‘Parent's Lived Experience of Memory Making with Their Child at or Near End of Life’. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. 39(7), pp. 798-805. doi: 10.1177/10499091211047838.
World Health Organisation. (2021). Childhood cancer. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer-in-children (Accessed 14th August 2025).
Page last updated: March 2026