Candlelighters For Childhood Cancer

Programs: Candlelighters childhood cancer foundation of nevada (cccfn) is a non-profit agency that provides support and services for families of children diagnosed with cancer. Children from birth to 21 years of age who have been diagnosed with cancer or who have survived cancer are eligible for services if they are living or being treated in nevada. Chartered in 1978, cccfn was founded by two families, each of whom had a child being treated for cancer. They believed that families could find strength, knowledge and comfort by banding together during their most difficult times. They wanted to use their experience to lessen the burden of those they knew would follow. Since that time, over 2,000 children in nevada have been diagnosed with cancer. In the beginning, candlelighters handled the needs of families entirely through a dedicated group of volunteers. Experienced parents were on-call 24 hours a day to counsel newly diagnosed families and assist them with their concerns. Today, cccfn serves approximately 100 families monthly, and as many as 600 families throughout the year. Candlelighters maintains a full-time office with professional staff available at all times for family support. There are no membership requirements or fees for families. A diagnosis of childhood cancer is the only requirement to become eligible for services. Referrals can come from any source as long as the family approves. Our purpose our purpose is to alleviate the isolation many families feel at the time their child is diagnosed, to offer our love, care, encouragement, and understanding so that nobody need face alone the uncertain world of childhood cancer. Recognizing the various needs of individuals and families, we offer our support and service to every family, without regard to economics, race, religion, and choice of physician(s) or health care facilities. All programs and services are given at no cost to the families. Donors have the satisfaction of knowing their support and contributions are directly helping nevada families. Statistics childhood cancer facts - "kids get cancer too" * each school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer. * one in 330 children will develop cancer by age 20. * 12,400 new pediatric cases per year * 2,500 annual deaths * cancer remains the number one disease killer of america's children - more than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, asthma and aids combined. * treatment of cancer is one of modern medicine's success stories. Thirty years ago, few children with cancer survived, but now almost 80% are cured of their disease, according to the american cancer society's 2008 statistics. Our population children 21 and under who are diagnosed with or have survived childhood cancer. * incidence rate: there are 75-80 new cases of childhood cancer in southern nevada annually. * prevalence rate: there are more than 200 active cases of childhood cancer in southern nevada annually. * candlelighters serves all ethnicities and income levels. Programs & services through its many programs, candlelighters provides assistance for quality-of-life issues that are a large part of the childhood cancer experience, including disease-specific education and emotional support. In certain circumstances, candlelighters also offers families much-needed financial support. Some of the most vital services candlelighters provide include: emergency assistance program after a child is diagnosed and the course of treatment begins, often the result is a long hospital stay for the child and missed workdays for one or both parents. Loss of work time, plus the costs of health care, frequently causes families financial distress. In these instances, candlelighters may be able to help families pay for living expenses such as rental, mortgage, and utilities. Medical expense assistance program medical bills for our families add up quickly and can be overwhelming for most. Co-payments alone can cost a family up to $250 per week depending on the child's course of treatment. Candlelighters is able to assist families through our co-pay reimbursement program, based on our income guidelines, to help off-set the cost of out of pocket medical expenses. Travel for treatment program children diagnosed with cancer are fortunate to be able to receive the best possible care right here in their community under the direction of our local pediatric oncologists. Second opinions, bone marrow or stem cell transplant, the physician's recommended treatment, or the parent's preferences may necessitate out of state treatment. Candlelighters will help with the travel costs by providing assistance with airfare and/ or gas, lodging and food. Candlelighters can also provide assistance with local transportation needs, via taxi, for those families who do not have a way to get to doctor's appointments or the hospital. Family counseling one-on-one counseling and child life specialist services: a childhood cancer diagnosis and its aftermath can be devastating for the child and his/her entire family, but medical insurance does not always cover the cost of counseling. Candlelighters helps families cope with psychological burdens by offering professional counseling and child life specialist services both at our office and at two pediatric oncologists' offices. Child life specialists help children and families cope with the stressful experiences they encounter during cancer treatment, especially in hospital and medical settings. Through play, education and self-expression activities, a child life specialist can provide age appropriate preparation for medical procedures, pain management and coping strategies. They act as an integral part of the health care team, typically working closely with doctors, nurses, social workers, and teachers, and provide critical emotional support to families as children undergo hospitalization and medical treatment. Art therapy uses the creative process of art to improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. Through creating art and reflecting on the art making process, people can better cope with symptoms of stress, and traumatic experiences in addition to resolving conflicts and problems, developing interpersonal skills, and increasing self-esteem, and self-awareness. Therapy sessions take place within a safe non-threatening environment in which participants create art and reflect on their work at the end of the session. Various types of art mediums are available during art therapy sessions: including drawing, painting, collage, clay, writing/art through poetry and journaling. Play therapy enables children to use toys as tools to express their world and their experiences. Therapy with children looks different than that of adults who traditionally engage in "talk therapy. " toys give children a medium for self-expression that is developmentally appropriate, allowing them to be themselves and explore their life challenges at their own pace and in their own unique way. Play therapy facilitates the therapeutic process while enhancing communication, resiliency, catharsis, and positive emotions. Project imagine is a key healing arts program we deliver at a child's hospital bed while the child is receiving treatment for cancer. The artwork created by the child gives the whole family an illustrated expression of the experience as a lifelong memory of their treatment journey. Such healing arts programs have documented positive impact on physical well-being, promotion of healing and shortened hospital stays. Support groups are offered on a monthly basis to help families in a variety of ways: *teen scene monthly socials offer teenagers an opportunity to connect with peers who are experiencing cancer treatment themselves or coping with a sibling's treatment. *parent connection pairs parents of a newly-diagnosed child with cancer with parents whose child of a similar age is in treatment or has survived cancer. *parents helping parents offers bereavement support for parents who lose a child to cancer.