In this section we consider what happens when you face birthdays, other festivals and anniversaries of the diagnosis and when your child died. We suggest what has been found to be helpful by other families, what they have done to mark special occasions and how to think about all the different members of the family.
In this section we look at life a few years after your child has died.
This section offers some helpful suggestions about how other family members, friends, school and communities can offer support when a child or young person has died from cancer.
Parents have told us they would like information to give to friends. This may help them understand what they can do to help after your child has died.
Parents have told us that it would be helpful to have some information to give to their child’s school. This is to help them understand what they can do to help both before and after your child has died. They have also suggested it may help to have some guidance for schools about how to talk to the rest of your child’s class, and what to do if your child still has brothers or sisters attending school.
CCLG is pleased to be able to support other (often smaller or family-run) charities to meet their research aims and fund research into childhood cancer.
Before your child has any treatment, the doctor will explain its aims and will ask you or your child to sign a form to give permission (consent) for the hospital staff to give the treatment.
Surgery is an important part of cancer treatment. Depending on the size and position of the tumour in the body, an operation to remove it may be the first part of treatment.
Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. Children usually have a combination of chemotherapy drugs.
Radiotherapy treats cancer by using high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells in a particular part of the body, while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells. The treatment is usually given in the hospital radiotherapy department as a series of short daily sessions over a few weeks.
