In addition to funding high-impact research projects, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) is committed to providing emotional, financial and logistical support to childhood cancer families to help make their challenges more manageable. The programs offered by ALSF have an immediate impact on families dealing with a childhood cancer diagnosis. Your donations help fuel these critical programs that remain essential for so many families that are fighting this disease.
Travel for Care
Potentially lifesaving treatment is not always available locally to a family facing a childhood cancer diagnosis. The Travel for Care program can provide financial assistance including gas, lodging and airfare for children battling childhood cancer to travel to clinical trials, experimental therapeutics, or treatment innovations not currently available at their local hospital. For families like Delbert's, it was critical. Delbert currently works in heavy equipment mechanics and lives in Texas with his fiancée and their “four-legged kids.” But back in 2016, Delbert had no idea what his future would hold.
He was a senior in high school when he was diagnosed with stage IV hodgkin’s lymphoma and took a break from school to enroll in a six-month clinical trial. He received chemotherapy twice a month, plus lab work, scans, and visits from a home health nurse. The clinical trial worked – Delbert’s cancer cells began to die away, and the mass shrank. The Travel For Care program eased the financial burden on Delbert’s family covering transportation costs to and from treatment. His mom, Vickie, is grateful for ALSF’s support while they were in “a dark place.”
Now, Delbert is all grown up and living life to the fullest with the people – and pets – that he loves.
SuperSibs
ALSF recognizes that childhood cancer affects the whole family, not only the child who receives the diagnosis. SuperSibs is dedicated to comforting, encouraging and empowering siblings of children with cancer, so they can face the future with courage and hope. Our Comfort and Care mailing program sends age-appropriate mailings over a two-year period that include coping skills and encouragement for siblings as their brother or sister fights cancer. This program can go a long way towards helping siblings find their footing in a new normal and thrive in the future, like Caylee.
Caylee is a 7-year-old with a great sense of humor. When she’s not making people laugh, she loves expressing her creativity through arts and crafts. Caylee is a very caring kid, especially when it comes to her little brother, Andrew. When Andrew was first diagnosed with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, he had to stay in the hospital for 30 days. Caylee stayed with her grandparents during that time, and although she missed her family a lot, she did everything she could to help them out. Although it’s been a hard journey on the whole family, today, Andrew is in remission.
When Caylee was feeling down, things like receiving mail from the SuperSibs program or having activities to keep her busy were a big help. No matter what her family is going through, Caylee always finds a way to be a great big sister.
Flashes of Hope
FOH Short.mp4 from Flashes of Hope on Vimeo.
A picture is worth a thousand memories. Flashes of Hope provides childhood cancer families with free photography packages in local hospitals around the country as keepsakes for families to honor the unique life and memory of their hero. Read recollections from Flashes of Hope photographers about what this program has meant to them and the kids they've photographed.
Other Resources for Families
Treatment Journal: For families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis they have a lot of treatment information to keep track of and manage. The ALSF Treatment Journal helps families stay organized and is provided for free to families and hospitals. "When my daughter was diagnosed on March 13, 2009, I didn't know how I was going to keep track of everything thrust upon me. I stumbled upon the ALSF website, and found the Treatment Journal. That thing was a 'sanity-keeper' for me. I couldn't believe that they just send it to you-free of charge!" - Jaime B., childhood cancer mom
Clinical Trials Navigation: Finding and understanding pediatric cancer clinical trial options can be challenging for families. The Clinical Trial Navigator can help by conducting a search to provide a list of pediatric oncology clinical trial options within the United States for families and their care team to consider. This service is available for free to families looking for clinical trials. That meant so much to Dylan's parents, Christina and Burt, who needed more options after his osteosarcoma relapsed. Thankfully, they found the Clinical Trials Navigation program and were able to get a personalized, easy-to-use list they could utilize.
"It was nice to know that someone who really knows how to use the system is filtering it down to actionable trials that we may be interested in. They also let us submit as much health information as we could to narrow down the clinical trial list. I thought that was great because it felt more personal and less generic," said Christina. You can continue helping ALSF fill these critical gaps for families in need.
