Today, on National Bereaved Parents Day, The Children’s Cancer Unit Charity and Cancer Fund for Children are proud to launch a dedicated bereavement support service for parents whose child has died from cancer.
The new service has been developed to ensure families in Northern Ireland receive compassionate, specialist support during one of life’s most devastating experiences. It reflects the shared commitment of both leading cancer charities to provide meaningful, long-term care for families affected by childhood cancer.
Supporting families beyond a childhood cancer diagnosis
A childhood cancer diagnosis changes the lives of an entire family. While many children go on to recover, some families experience the unimaginable death of a child.
For bereaved parents, the emotional impact can be overwhelming and long-lasting. This new service has been designed to offer compassionate emotional support, practical guidance and a trusted person to walk alongside parents as they navigate life after the death of their child.
The death of a child is unimaginable, and the grief that follows can feel overwhelming and isolating. It affects the entire family, and no parent can ever truly prepare for such heartbreak.
We are incredibly proud to partner with Cancer Fund for Children to launch this dedicated bereavement support service, ensuring parents who have experienced the death of their child have access to specialist, compassionate support when they need it most. With an experienced bereavement support worker dedicated to the service, families will have someone who understands the unique challenges they face and can walk alongside them as they navigate this time in their lives. We hope this new service will provide comfort, understanding and practical support, helping bereaved parents feel less alone.
A partnership between two leading cancer charities
The launch of this dedicated bereavement support service marks an important step in ensuring families continue to receive compassionate care, not only throughout treatment but also following the death of a child.
By working together, The Children’s Cancer Unit Charity and Cancer Fund for Children are committed to ensuring no bereaved parent has to face their grief alone.
Every week in Northern Ireland, three children and young people aged 0-24 are diagnosed with cancer. A childhood cancer diagnosis is life-changing for the diagnosed child and their entire family. When a family experiences the death of a child, the impact is profound, and the support required must be flexible, responsive, courageous and sustained. We are delighted to be working alongside The Children's Cancer Unit Charity to provide enhanced, compassionate support to parents navigating bereavement.
For more information on this invaluable service, visit our dedicated Bereavement Support Service page.
