The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust is offering more help, via its family support services, to families in the region facing the devastating news that their child is seriously ill.
The Trust currently has a team of two support workers working in Gloucestershire, along with Herefordshire and Worcestershire, but is now looking for another support worker who will also cover south Gloucestershire.
The charity says it is acting now because of the growing number of families requiring support. Every year around 30 children and young people in Gloucestershire are diagnosed with cancer.
Sarah Tarry, family support team lead said: “Being able to reach out to even more families in Gloucestershire, through the recruitment of a new Gloucestershire-based family support worker, is a proud step forward for our charity.
“From the moment they receive their child’s diagnosis, we hope to be able to offer families some valuable emotional and practical support so that they never feel like they are on their own.”
The Trust wants to help all Gloucestershire families who have a child diagnosed with cancer. This may be through assistance to understand overwhelming information, support to cope with a very unwell child, as well as taking in complex medical decisions and facing increased costs and a huge amount of uncertainty and worry.
The aim is that no family will be discharged from its services before they feel ready. For some families, this may be several years due to the length of their child’s treatment and recovery or following bereavement.
The trust also plans to be able to offer therapeutic groups for some of the children to enable them to meet others in similar situations.
Sarah added: “One little nine-year-old boy whose family we have supported told me: ‘I love the Grace Kelly charity because they actually care about me. They have given us a new friend (Sarah) who comes to our house and spends time talking to us and playing with us. My mum loves to chat to her….
“They always make me feel better because they send me information about things that are happening to me so I can stop worrying about stuff that I am unsure of. They even gave me a robot and a tablet so I could still see my school friends and do my work from my house. They are the kindest people and they will always be special to me even when I’m better.'”
The Worcestershire-based charity was set up following the death of four-year-old Grace Kelly in 2014 to fulfil her aim to help other children suffering from cancer.
For more information on the charity’s family support service please go to www.gkcct.org
