Child-Focused Organizations Give Parents With Cancer ‘One Less Stress’

Sometimes when patients receive a cancer diagnosis, they are equally — if not more so — concerned with their children’s wellbeing than their own treatment. Luckily, there are resources out there that can provide support for children and teens whose parents have cancer, explained Meaghan Mooney.

Mooney, who is the chief of staff at Ascension Medical Group in Austin, was the recipient of the 2024 Extraordinary Healer® Award for oncology nurses. She was nominated by Meredith R. Cooper, cofounder of the Wonders & Worries organization. The Austin-based organization provides developmental and coping support to children who have a parent facing a major medical issue, such as cancer. Mooney serves on the board of the organization, and as an oncology nurse, has seen first-hand the stress that cancer can put on an entire family, and how groups like Wonders & Worries can help.

READ MORE: Extending Healing Commitment to a Cancer Community

“It was just [that] so many of them — especially with [gynecologic] oncology — [there are] a lot of moms that we were dealing with,” Mooney said in an interview with CURE®. “They just expressed it was just one less stress they had to worry about. They were more worried about their kids rather than their own treatment.”

Transcript:

Wonders & Worries is a nonprofit based in Austin … They use child life specialists to provide support services for children whose parents have a serious illness. [For the] majority of the clients we serve, it's a cancer diagnosis. So they will explain the disease in an age-appropriate manner. They provide counseling services and bereavement services if needed.

I’ve actually had several patients who utilize their services, and I saw the impact that Wonders & Worries made on them and their family. It was just [that] so many of them — especially with [gynecologic] oncology —[there are] a lot of moms that we were dealing with. They just expressed it was just one less stress they had to worry about. They were more worried about their kids rather than their own treatment. … They would often say that they felt more comfortable [after utilizing Wonders & Worries’ services], and it was one less weight off their shoulders that they didn't have to worry about because they knew their kids were taken care of.

I joined their board, goodness, about five years ago. So I've been on their board. I've served on several committees. I've been their gala chair for the past couple years. I've helped with outreach, fundraising, lots of different things to kind of help kind of spread those services and make because it was extremely valuable and a very overlooked aspect of oncology care because so many people are focused on the patient. But there's more to the patient than just them.

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