FOR FAMILIES
To look into your child’s eyes and hold them tight with the words, “Your child has cancer,” ringing in your ears... To be swept away suddenly from your home, often cut off from friends and family, desperate to do whatever it takes to fight for your child’s life... To feel like a foreigner when at last you do return home, like a veteran returning from war... We understand the shock, the stress, and the challenges that come with being the parent of a child diagnosed with cancer. While each child, disease, and family is unique, there are many commonalities those of us who've walked this road of cancer with our child do share.
It is the desire of LightWell Foundation to offer support to families whose child has been diagnosed with cancer by connecting them with other families within the Gallatin Valley who understand because they have fought alongside their own child with cancer.
If your child has been recently diagnosed with cancer or you know of such a local family, please email us at [email protected]. We can provide a sympathetic, listening ear, answer questions that may arise, and help you get connected to additional resources for social and financial support.
A resource we would like to make available to you is the New Diagnosis Packet, created to address the first hours, days, and weeks from the point at which you first hear the word “cancer” in connection with your child. We know what it is like to have your whole world turned upside down in one moment. The New Diagnosis Packet is a compilation of the information and wisdom we have gathered, having gone through this experience ourselves. It is our genuine hope that in providing this material, you will feel a little more equipped for the days ahead.
To provide the board with an update, please go here.
It is the desire of LightWell Foundation to offer support to families whose child has been diagnosed with cancer by connecting them with other families within the Gallatin Valley who understand because they have fought alongside their own child with cancer.
If your child has been recently diagnosed with cancer or you know of such a local family, please email us at [email protected]. We can provide a sympathetic, listening ear, answer questions that may arise, and help you get connected to additional resources for social and financial support.
A resource we would like to make available to you is the New Diagnosis Packet, created to address the first hours, days, and weeks from the point at which you first hear the word “cancer” in connection with your child. We know what it is like to have your whole world turned upside down in one moment. The New Diagnosis Packet is a compilation of the information and wisdom we have gathered, having gone through this experience ourselves. It is our genuine hope that in providing this material, you will feel a little more equipped for the days ahead.
To provide the board with an update, please go here.
OTHER GREAT RESOURCES
- The Swagar Foundation provides financial support to Montana pediatric cancer families in treatment. http://swagarfoundation.org
- The Payden Memorial Foundation, based in Livingston, provides financial support to families who have a child with cancer.
(406) 222-6700 http://payden.org - The Jadyn Fred Foundation, based in Missoula, provides financial assistance to families who have a child with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.
(406) 370-2159 http://www.jadynfred.org - Cancer Support Community of Montana provides a wide range of support for people with cancer and their loved ones including educational sessions, support groups, counseling, travel assistance, and fun activities. Their incredible program, Kid Support, is for any child who has a family member with cancer and for children who themselves have cancer. All of their services are free of charge.
(406) 582-1600 http://www.cancersupportmontana.org
- The Montana Hope Project grants wishes to children battling life-threatening illnesses, sponsored by the Montana Association of Troopers. (406) 949-HOPE http://montanahope.org
- Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana grants creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. https://wish.org/SDMT
- Eagle Mount in Bozeman, provides Big Sky Kids camps which are “designed for young people with cancer and their families. Four different summer camps and one family ski weekend are offered, all tailored to campers’ ages and medical requirements.”
(406) 586-1781 http://eaglemount.org - Camp Mak-A-Dream in Gold Creek, Montana, offers amazing, free summer camp sessions to children with cancer and their siblings.
(406) 549-5987 http://www.campdream.org
- Tamarack Grief Resource Center in Missoula, “is the region’s most comprehensive grief resource center, specializing in bereavement camps and providing year-round grief support and education.”
(406) 541-8472 www.tamarackgriefresourcecenter.org