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CancerCare’s free Healing Hearts Family Bereavement Camp allows families who have experienced the loss of a loved one to cancer to come together for a weekend retreat. Check out our Indiegogo page to help us make this unique experience available to additional families!

Registration is now open for families interested in spending a weekend at CancerCare’s Healing Hearts Bereavement Camp, a free retreat for those coping with the loss of a loved one to cancer. The seventh annual camp will take place on June 5-7 at Malibu Dude Ranch in Milford, PA. The camp combines fun activities such as swimming and horseback riding with therapeutic grief activities to provide emotional support.

Cancer is a difficult subject to talk about, and many parents coping with a diagnosis may try to avoid the topic in fear that they will upset their children. What to say about cancer, how to say it, and how much information to share are common concerns.

Xiomara, 46, had never been affected by cancer until her son Jaeden was suddenly diagnosed at age three with ependymoma, a rare type of brain tumor. “No one in my family had ever had cancer. When you hear about it, it is totally different than when it actually hits your family – especially a toddler,” she explains.

Communicating with a child whose parent has been diagnosed with a chronic illness can be both confusing and overwhelming. As CancerCare’s Healing Hearts Program Coordinator, Claire Grainger, MSW, LCSW works closely with families to help navigate these challenges. Based on her professional experience and expertise, Claire has written the recently published book, “My Daddy Sits Upon a Star.”

Sue began advocating for emotional support after her husband, Rob, advanced to stage 4 melanoma in 2009. He’d been at stage 3 for almost three years, long enough for his doctor to be optimistic and for the family to feel more confident about the future. The news, received in the emergency room where he’d been taken in response to a seizure, came as a huge blow.

Maddy Gold, 13, has quickly become one of CancerCare’s most inspiring advocates by sharing her personal cancer experience. As a result, she has made a remarkable impact on the lives of others. Maddy began coming to CancerCare at the age of four to receive emotional support after her mother, Alyssa, was diagnosed with metastatic cancer.