Our Mission
The mission of Helping Families Handle Cancer is to provide financial assistance to families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis, alleviating the financial burden so parents can focus on caring for their child. We aim to ease emotional and financial stress through compassionate financial support during one of life’s most challenging times.
How you can help us this Giving Tuesday
This Giving Tuesday, Double Your Impact with Helping Families Handle Cancer! Helping Families Handle Cancer (HFHC) is a registered not-for-profit organization dedicated to easing the financial burden for families navigating a childhood cancer diagnosis. Cancer brings immense emotional and financial strain, but our mission is to ensure families can focus on what truly matters—caring for their child—instead of struggling to pay bills. HFHC partners with Oncology Social Workers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital to identify families in need of immediate support. This year, we’re setting a goal to raise $10,000—and thanks to a generous matching grant, every dollar you donate will be doubled! Your contribution will directly support our Care Program, which provides vital financial relief to families, enabling them to stay by their child’s side during treatment. Since our founding in 2008, HFHC has assisted over 1,900 families, providing more than $1.2 million in support. Each year, we help 200 to 300 families, alleviating emotional and financial stress while giving parents precious time with their child—time that is often more valuable than we can imagine.
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Your funds make a difference for families like Eja's!
 | The anticipation of the first day of school can bring up many emotions – excitement, nervousness, enthusiasm, anxiousness. August 31, 2023, just before the first day of Grade 9, was a completely new experience for Eja. It was the day she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, commonly known as bone cancer. Earlier that summer, what had started off as suspected growing pains in her leg – a natural part of most kids’ development – was becoming unbearable. Eja had always been very active in sports, from volleyball and badminton to soccer and dance. Since she was so active, soreness wasn’t uncommon, but this pain didn’t go away. In fact it got so bad it caused her to start limping. A trip to their family doctor ended with a referral for an X-ray. When the doctor called about the results, something in Jenalyn, Eja’s mother, just knew that it wasn’t going to be good news. “He said it’s most likely cancerous,” Jenalyn recalls. “Eja and I looked at each other and she started crying. I’m trying to process it and it’s hard to believe just like that.” Jenalyn did her best to stay calm. An MRI would confirm the doctor’s suspicions and after a three-day wait, which felt like a lifetime for an anxious mother and daughter, they got in and the diagnosis was confirmed. With no family history of bone cancer, they had so many questions. The cancer was initially found in Eja’s femur and from there it went to her knee and lungs. In less than a month, it was classified as Stage 4. “Eja couldn’t even straighten her leg. She lost all her independence physically,” Jenalyn explains. Jenalyn had recently started a new role in healthcare, but she took a leave of absence to care for her daughter. Eja’s treatment started on September 12 and as a result, she missed that entire school year. Despite her illness and intensive treatment plan, she still did her best to stay on track academically. “She maintained honours with distinction,” Jenalyn says proudly. But her experience was isolating in many ways and presented other challenges, beyond just the physical. “Eja lost contact with her friends as well. Being immunocompromised in the winter flu season is so hard. She was pretty much bound to the house and hospital, and it took a toll on her mental health.” Eja and Jenalyn made the hour-and-a-half trek to the Calgary Children’s Hospital almost every week for nine months. With another 12-year-old daughter at home in Red Deer, Jenalyn’s husband needed to be there to care for her. “At that time, we wanted Isla to have a normal lifestyle.” Helping Families was able to support the family with gas money for the countless trips to the hospital, which Jenalyn describes as a “huge relief.” In addition, they provided food vouchers, gift cards and parking passes. “I couldn’t imagine paying for parking,” Jenalyn says. “That was a big, big help for us. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” Eja’s treatment ended in May 2024 and she returned to school in the fall, just in time for her first year of high school. For now, the plan is to continue with regular scans to monitor her progress, along with regular physio to help her recover her ability to walk. “Eja’s very determined to get moving again. Hopefully one day she can go back to playing volleyball, so that’s our goal,” Jenalyn says.
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Our vision is powered by teamwork:
This Giving Tuesday, we’re looking for 50 unique supporters to help us reach our goal and make a difference in the lives of families facing childhood cancer.
Together, we may be small, but with your support, we are mighty. Let’s make a double impact this year!
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the decade, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. The mission is to strive to build a world in which the power of generosity is at the heart of the society we build together, unlocking opportunity, and equity around the globe.
Donate now and help us continue to make a difference for families when they need it most.
FAQ or Contact
Heather Roy: Helping Families Handle Cancer Grants Coordinator
heather@helpingfamilies.ca
