July 2, 1999

Fourteen-year-old Laura Goldstein of Andover, Mass., understands how a kid feels when a parent has breast cancer. She learned firsthand at the tender age of 9 when her mother, Janice, was diagnosed with the disease. Her mother's illness left Laura feeling sad, frightened and alone.

Now that her mother has made a full recovery, Laura's experience with the disease and her compassion for other children have led her to help kids of breast cancer patients at the MGH. Laura has created what she calls "B.C. (Breast Cancer) Kid Kits" for children who have a parent with breast cancer. The contents of the kits come from her own experience and her reflections on what would have helped her during that difficult time when her mother was ill. The kit includes children's books about breast cancer, journals to write in, stuffed animals, support information, stickers and candy. Laura and her parents presented 60 kits to the MGH Cancer Resource Room June 24 to help patients and their families cope with the disease.

"The kits are a great addition to the many resources patients and families can access through oncology social workers and the Cancer Resource Room," says Kathy Clair-Hayes, LICSW. "The difference with this particular resource is that it is developed by a kid for kids."

Laura was able to create the B.C. Kid Kits after winning the KidSpeak's annual Solutions Challenge competition, which is sponsored by Brigham's Ice Cream. The competition encourages children ages 8 to 18 to develop a detailed plan describing how they would personally improve the world if they had the opportunity. As the winner of the 1998 Solutions Challenge, Laura received a $3,000 grant to help put her idea into action.

From left, Kathy Clair-Hayes, LICSW, and Simon Powell, MD, of the MGH Cancer Center,with Janice and Laura Goldstein, and Barbara Smith, MD, and Jerry Younger, MD, also from the MGH Cancer Center.