Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the location trail if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Location trail
Home > About childhood cancer >One minute life is carrying on as usual. The next your child is diagnosed with cancer and your world has turned upside down. Parents often say it’s as though their old life stops and a ‘new life’ begins.
What now?
You may still be struggling to take in the news. Some parents talk about everything being a ‘blur’ to begin with. They talk about feeling swamped with information and yet unable to take any of it in. Others describe the shock of seeing a children’s cancer ward for the first time.
On a practical level, life is likely to feel like an endless round of medical tests and procedures. If your child is an inpatient, you are probably still getting to grips with ward life. And, if your child has been referred to a specialist cancer hospital, you may be miles from home and family.
Help and support
Each family’s experience of childhood cancer is unique – from how the illness affects your child to the way your family life is affected. But, whatever your experience over the coming weeks and months, you’ll find there is plenty of help and support available when you need it.
CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people. We offer all-round help and support for children and young people diagnosed with cancer and their families.
Information
Families have helped us put together this section for parents of children under 16, using their own experiences after diagnosis. There are no perfect answers and everyone deals with things differently. But at least we can tell you some of the ways your child’s cancer diagnosis is likely to affect you and your family, and who you can go to for help.
top of page