Family Support FAQ

Direct support services are specifically available to families of children diagnosed with cancer, Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), brain tumors, or aplastic anemia. You can review the foundational criteria on the Family Support Overview page.

Parents and caregivers should fill out the online intake form located on the Family Support page to introduce their family to CURE’s staff and trigger program opportunities.

CURE walks alongside families during active treatment, through the transition into long-term survivorship, and offers dedicated, lifelong care for bereaved families.

It is a program designed to ease the emotional and financial strain of hospital stays by serving free, nourishing meals directly to hospitalized children and their families.

Buying restaurant food during long stays creates heavy financial pressure. Additionally, many children are too young or too ill for a parent to comfortably leave their bedside to go to a cafeteria or restaurant. Open Arms meals alleviate financial hardship and offer sustenance without having to leave the hospital room.

CURE provides these meals across multiple pediatric hospital sites in Georgia — specifically targeting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah, and Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta.

Meals are typically served between two and four times per week, depending on the specific hospital site.

Yes. Individuals and organizations can actively sponsor or provide meals. You can find out how to coordinate and register for specific locations via the Open Arms Meal Program page.

Yes. CURE volunteers and staff regularly visit pediatric outpatient clinics to deliver breakfast items to children undergoing chemotherapy infusions.

CURE manages a Family Emergency Fund to help families cover basic household expenses and emergency bills that build up when a parent must cut back work hours to care for a sick child.

Georgia residents, or any families receiving oncology treatment at a Georgia-based hospital, are the primary applicants. Assistance for families residing in or receiving care outside of Georgia is also offered, subject to the availability of funds.

No. To ensure proper vetting and coordination, all financial assistance applications must be formally submitted on your behalf by your hospital pediatric oncology social worker.

Social workers can find submission instructions and directly email queries to CURE’s financial team at [email protected]. More details are accessible on the Family Emergency Fund page.

The program addresses the complex psychological and emotional challenges that impact the entire family unit following a serious pediatric diagnosis.

CURE partners with a specialized network of licensed, community-based therapists (such as the accredited Summit Counseling Center) to deliver safe, professional care.

Sessions are structured flexibly and can be utilized by the diagnosed patient, the parents or primary guardians, or the patient’s siblings.

The sessions can be mixed and matched based entirely on your current dynamics, including individual therapy, couples counseling, or family therapy sessions.

The very first intake session is entirely free. For every subsequent session, CURE covers the majority of the cost, requiring only a $30.00 co-pay paid directly to the therapist.

Yes. These subsidized counseling sessions are structured as a once-per-lifetime benefit per family and do not renew annually.

Providers comply strictly with HIPAA privacy laws. CURE authorizes the funding via a highly limited release form; no clinical details, session notes, or diagnostic specifics from your therapy are ever disclosed back to CURE.

Families can apply directly using the HIPAA-compliant forms provided on the Counseling Program page, or reach out to coordinator Chelsea Key at [email protected].

CURE hosts a curated collection of parent-to-parent tips highlighting the value of staying highly flexible, tracking blood counts, and never fearing asking your medical team repetitive questions on the Family Resources page.

Yes. While the Family Resources page highlights immediate essentials – like cold-weather layers for chilly rooms, long phone chargers, and slip-on shoes – it then expands into a What to Bring to the Hospital page that includes an extensive packing checklist. This guide covers everything from personal toiletries and entertainment to comfort items, helping you keep a complete “go-bag” ready for both planned stays and unexpected admissions.

These are therapeutic, printable activity pages designed to help young children externalize and communicate overwhelming feelings through play, art, and creative writing.

Yes. CURE provides downloadable, double-sided Coping Cards filled with grounding techniques, deep-breathing rhythms, and sensory distraction exercises available in both English and Spanish on the Coping Resources page.

It is an authoritative manual designed by the world’s largest pediatric cancer research organization to clarify complex medical terms for newly diagnosed families. You can download it directly from CURE’s Family Resources page.

Yes. The free COG KidsCare App (available for iOS and Android) features digital copies of the COG Family Handbook, an appointment tracker, journaling spaces, and one-touch dialing for your medical team. A link is available on our Family Resources page.

CURE partners with an organization called The Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2). On our Family Resources page, you will find a link directly to the CAC2 Hope Portal, a nationwide database connecting families to verified regional support assets.

Late effects are long-term physical, cognitive, or psychological side effects that emerge months or years after completing surgeries, radiation, or chemotherapy treatments.

It is a detailed, personalized roadmap provided by your healthcare team containing an exact summary of all treatments received alongside clear instructions for tracking future health metrics.

Yes. The transition out of clinical care can cause unexpected anxiety. CURE’s Counseling Program remains fully accessible to Georgia families throughout their child’s post-treatment survivorship journey.

These are evidence-based clinical guidelines used by doctors to catch late effects early. They are accompanied by family-friendly “HealthLinks” documents, which you can access via our Survivorship page.

These are secure, web-based electronic portals that allow parents to archive, control, and seamlessly share their child’s complex medical history and survivorship charts with new physicians. You can find relevant links on our Survivorship page.

Yes. CURE provides targeted, ongoing bereavement programming, regional workshops, and community events designed to ensure families are never forgotten.

An annual, supportive retreat hosted in Atlanta tailored specifically for families who have lost a child to pediatric cancer within the past three years, offering grief breakout sessions and communal comfort.

A relaxed annual afternoon gathering in Atlanta designed for parents whose loss occurred more than three years ago, featuring a shared meal, guest speakers, and an intimate candle-lighting ceremony.

In the Savannah area, CURE hosts a dedicated regional Hope and Healing Workshop along with quarterly Healing Hearts gatherings for casual parent-to-parent peer support. For information on Savannah’s bereavement events, please contact Allena Hendrix at [email protected].

Yes. CURE coordinates separate events quarterly, specifically for bereaved fathers and mothers, to process loss and connect in a casual environment.

You can reach out directly to coordinator Karen Rutherford by emailing [email protected] or reading more on the Bereavement Care page.