Cancer Focus NI - Family Support
When an adult in the family is diagnosed with cancer it affects the entire family. It can be a distressing, isolating and frightening time. Sometimes, it can be hard for a family to openly talk about exactly how it feels to go through a cancer journey.
For children and young people, it can bring unwanted and dramatic changes to their lives and can affect their experience of school, relationships, and ongoing development.
Family Support is one way for children, parents, and guardians to express their emotions. An opportunity to talk one-to-one or as a group in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
What to expect?
A designated Family Support Worker will discuss a family’s individual needs and will arrange suitable support.
Support provided:
- Helps families, children and young people untangle complicated emotions and fears
- Provide a support service tailored to meet the needs of each family
- Offer constructive practical and emotional support when life feels difficult
- Help your family find the language to speak to each other about cancer
- Provide opportunities for children/young people to meet others in a similar situation
- Provide opportunities for parents to share experiences and feelings
- Support the family to have some fun together and enable them to continue family life
About the service
The service is for children/young people and their families when a significant adult has been diagnosed with cancer. The adult might be a parent, grandparent, or carer. Sometimes an individual member of the family might benefit from one-to-one support or the entire family can have a space to be together and share their feelings.
This service is delivered across Northern Ireland and is run by experienced Family Support Workers. The service engages with Cancer Focus NI’s wider therapeutic teams to respond to the individual needs of local families.
How to access the service
Please contact our team on 028 9066 3281 or email familysupport@cancerfocusni.org. Alternatively, you can complete the contact form (click here).