Life is normal until one day the unimaginable happens – YOU hear the words, “YOUR child has cancer”. These four words evoke overwhelming stress, anger, anxiety, guilt, sadness, and depression while attempting to navigate a formerly unknown world of treatments, medications, and procedures. You embark on the journey with a strong will to never give up while fighting every, single day to save your child’s life. “I began grieving the day my daughter was diagnosed. From that moment, I knew that her life was forever changed. My hopes and dreams for her would also dramatically change,” Cherri, mother of Teen Cancer Warrior and Angel – Lauren. Cancer affects a family’s life throughout treatment, into survivorship, and for some, is the cause of grieving hearts for those remembering their precious child.

Mind Map Journaling
Journaling is a well known emotional coping tool. It’s helpful for our families to have a place to write down the events of the day, so they can remember important milestones, but also to express their feelings, thoughts, and questions. However, writing in journal form is not for everyone, especially younger kids where writing sentences could be daunting. This is where using the concept of a mind map, often used for brainstorming and planning, can come in.