In this episode, I share my conversation with Ambika. Ambika is the mother of Arya, who was 5 in 2024 when he was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Ambika and her husband Abhinav reached out to me because they hoped to share their family’s story and wanted the opportunity to talk about all the ways their child’s cancer impacted their family.

Ambika discusses the unique way her family rallied to support her and her husband while they shared the caregiving responsibilities for their two young children. She also shares some of the challenges they faced along the way, such as the isolation that comes with parental identity loss, how to relate to friends and colleagues when your world is upside-down, and how to handle nutritional challenges when your child simply cannot tolerate most of the foods he used to love. In Ambika's words, "We hope our story can offer comfort and connection to other families and caregivers who may be walking a similar path."

If you would like to share your story, please reach out at nccpod@gmail.com.

I know you'll enjoy this episode.

In this episode, I share my conversation with Zack Sandor-Kerr. Zach is the father of 3 boys, including 10 year old Jasper, who was diagnosed with leukemia in June of 2023. Zack tells us about his experience as a Dad, who has been the primary caregiver for his child throughout his treatment, and what that has been like for him, and his wife Kaitlin. He rightfully raises the issue of inclusive care in both the hospital environment, and in our communities. His perspective is both considerate of others, and an important reminder to all of us to check our assumptions, and consider our words. As a super creative person, Zack also had an interesting way to prepare family and friends for visits to the Sandor-Kerr home during the early days of his son's treatment. If you would like to see a copy of the Tip Sheets that Zack describes in this episode, please email me at nccpod@gmail.com.

You can learn more about Zack's art on Instagram, or at storypanda.ca.

In this episode, I’m sharing my conversation with Alexx Friesen. Alexx is a Child Life Specialist who works in Toronto. She has worked with families in hospital settings, as well as in hospice and palliative care. She also has experience in oncology, both as a professional, as well as a patient. She herself is a childhood cancer survivor. Her experience as a patient when she was a child led her to this career and it gives her such a unique perspective and skill set to work with families in these extremely difficult scenarios. She is a kind and happy person who is so creative and insightful into the experiences of children. She is also so well-equipped to be doing this very important work.

You can find Alexx online at @childlifealexx.