Parents with Cancer: Seek Kid on Kid Support for Your Child

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It’s often said that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t just affect the person that has cancer, it affects the entire family.  

That’s especially true in today’s landscape when cancer is starting to affect younger people in their 30s, 40s, and early 50s.  

The people being diagnosed with cancer today often have young children. 

In a lifetime, one in 20 kids will experience a parent’s cancer diagnosis before they graduate high school, according to the Pickles Group.  

These young children often struggle to comprehend cancer and how it might change a family dynamic.  

Not only do lifestyles change, so do increasing thoughts of mortality and the fear of losing a parent to the disease.  

The experience of having a parent with cancer can be extremely difficult and extremely isolating.  

That’s one of the challenges that the Pickles Group seeks to change by giving kids of cancer patients a space to feel supported and understood by other kids going through the same experience. 

Let’s dive into the Pickles Group and how it benefits kids.  

Pickles Group for Kids with a Parent Who Has Cancer 

The Pickles Group works to support kids with parents going through cancer by providing a peer-to-peer support system and sharing resources.  

Pickles stands for persevere, illuminate, connect, kindle, learn, empower, and support. 

The group was founded in 2019 by a group of parents who were connecting over their own cancer diagnosis.  

Realizing that their kids felt similar feelings of isolation, they recognized their kids needed an outlet where kids felt seen by their peers. 

The first group of kids began meeting a month later and, over time, the kids were changed for the better. They were laughing together, building a sense of community, and were feeling a sense of relief that had since been lost.  

Since its founding, the Pickles Group strives to offer age-appropriate information about cancer, help with giving kids the coping skills they need to process their feelings in healthy ways, and provide connection through shared experiences. 

Pickles Group continues to serve children across the US, including many Latino children. 

Deb Blake-Ontiveros is a metastatic breast cancer survivor and Latina patient leader from Utah who was recently diagnosed with another form of breast cancer.  

While battling the disease, she knew that she needed to seek support for her daughter and turned to Pickles Group for help. 

“Pickles Group has been incredibly meaningful for my daughter, Estelar. She learned about cancer cells in an age appropriate, fun, and empowering way that helped reduce fear and confusion,” Blake-Ontiveros told Salud America!.  

“Most importantly, she loved seeing other kids with parents living with cancer, it helped her feel less alone and reminded her that she’s not the only one walking this path.” 

How to Enroll in Pickles Group 

Pickles Group is open to kids from the 1st grade through 12th grade with parents who have gone through or going through cancer. 

The group serves kids and their families from across the country virtually with in-person programs in Chicago.  

To enroll your child, contact Pickles Group by calling 559-313-6873, email contact@picklesgroup.org, or visit www.picklesgroup.org.  

Additional resources through Pickles Group are available online, including family support kits that teach parents how to talk to their children about a cancer diagnosis, webinars on the same topic, and a 5-week virtual youth program that combines fun, art, and play with peer support.

Volunteer for a Clinical Trial for Your Familia! 

Cancer and Alzheimer’s hurt many of our abuelos, moms, dads, and others we love. 

Clinical trials help us fight for our familia. 

Clinical trials are studies that help researchers learn more to help slow, manage, and treat Alzheimer’s and cancer for current and future family members. But without volunteers for clinical trials, the benefits may miss this group. 

Visit our clinical trials page to find a clinical trial, read about hero volunteers, and more! 

“Volunteers in clinical trials are not only helping themselves, but they’re also building a future with better treatments that can help their families in the future,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. 

Those looking for opportunities based in San Antonio can search the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio’s Find a Clinical Trial database to learn more about available clinical trials and eligibility requirements. 

On a national level, visit clinicaltrials.gov to find a clinical trial near you. 

learn more about  CLINICAL TRIALs!