My Nonprofit Reviews

Jill Alonzo
Review for Children's Cancer Connection, Johnston, IA, USA
My son, Ian, was diagnosed with leukemia at the end of last May. It was the most devastating thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, and trying to deal with all the changes that became part of my life, and Cancer Connection helped with this. They provided a wonderful manual at the beginning of my son's diagnosis that helped me to better understand what he was going through, and helped me to find some coping strategies. Thing went along fine for several months, and then this winter I had an emotional relapse. I started to feel upset about my son's diagnosis again, even though things were still going well. I didn't understand this, and my confusion made me feel even worse. Cancer Connection was there for me again. They connected me with another mom who had a daughter with leukemia. We were able to meet and talk, and it helped me tremendously. Additionally, there is always someone from Cancer Connection at the oncology clinic to help the kids in the waiting area with crafts, games, etc. My son enjoys working with these volunteers and I'm thankful that they are willing to share their time to make our visit at the clinic (not my son's favorite place) a little more pleasant. Life changes in so many ways when your child is diagnosd with cancer. There are the obvious changes like hospital and clinic visits, and lost of medical bills, but there are also a lot of challenges that people don't think about as readily, such as the continual emotional roller coaster and strain to parents, dealing with side effects, and trying to help your child feel positive about an awful situation. Cancer Connection helps to fill the gap for these concerns.
More Feedback
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
that I am a mother of a child with cancer and this organization helped serve my family.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
make more support groups available on different nights, and perhaps for different types of cancer.