Support Program Offers Help for Parents Facing Pediatric Cancer

Dena Paluck first learned about Cancer Hope Network’s Hopeful Hearts program through a Facebook ad, and she immediately knew it was something she wanted to be part of. Having navigated her daughter Laura’s osteosarcoma diagnosis and nine months of treatment, Dena wanted to share the insights and support she had gained to help other parents facing the same challenges.

Now that Laura is healthy, active, and continuing physical therapy after a limb-salvage surgery, Dena uses her experience to guide others as one of the program’s first volunteer peer mentors. Hopeful Hearts connects parents of children with cancer to those who have faced similar journeys, offering guidance, reassurance, and a sense of community during an isolating time.

CURE: How did you discover the Hopeful Hearts pediatric cancer parent mentor program, and what inspired you to volunteer?

Paluck: So, throughout the entire cancer and treatment process, my overarching hope was that this was going to have a positive outcome for our family and that it would positively impact our world. I didn't know what that looked like, but it was just a hope that this was not a completely wasted effort in learning. It's been over a year and a half at this point since she finished treatment, and it's taken quite a bit of time, because after treatment, all of the emotion that you weren't able to deal with comes up. There are all sorts of things that you deal with after treatment that, personally, I wasn't prepared for. Now that we've been through a little longer, I've had an opportunity to process.

On Facebook, I am in a bunch of different cancer support groups, so my algorithm is geared towards cancer support. The program came up as an ad on Facebook, and it took me a minute to figure out if it was legit, but once I was fairly confident it was, I signed up because this is exactly what I want. This is something that I would have hoped for: to have the opportunity to share some of the very niche knowledge I've gained over this process with somebody else and hopefully make their lives a little bit easier.

How is your child thriving after osteosarcoma treatment, and what has pediatric cancer survivorship been like for your family?

She's doing great. She does not like to talk about cancer, or if I bring it up, she immediately changes the subject, which is her right as a survivor. I let that go, but she is doing very well. She is back in; we're still dealing with pain, so she's on a lot of pain medications. She had a limb-salvage surgery, where her bone and knee were removed and replaced with an implant, which triggers every metal detector we go through, something she despises.

We're still working through the pain, and she's back in physical therapy, which is a very expected outcome of this particular type of cancer. She'll be in and out of physical therapy for a while, and we're at the hospital about once a month for a variety of appointments. But overall, I cannot imagine a better outcome than what we've been able to experience.

What advice would you give to parents navigating their child’s cancer treatment and seeking support through peer programs?

It's so easy to feel responsible for everything, but you're not responsible for everything. One thing I actually found very helpful is the realization that tomorrow will happen; I don't have to do anything about it. It's just going to happen. It could be good or bad, but it will happen. What I would say is give yourself the grace to appreciate that it's ridiculously hard, and you can only deal with what you're dealing with right now, and that's okay. Deal with the present moment, and then you'll deal with the next moment, and tomorrow will take care of itself.

Absolutely ask for help and ask for resources. Ask for resources over and over, because you're not going to be able to absorb all the answers at once. It will take time, but once you get there, there is so much available to you. Different hospitals and communities have different resources, which you don't necessarily know about.

That's something else I hope this program will help identify: some of those gaps so you understand what else is available to you. Cancer Hope Network is excellent, and I want people to reach out to them. The parent mentor program is something I'm so excited to get into, to help this very small, yet too big, community get through these things.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness

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