December 22, 2006

Birthday fun helps families cope
with cancer

When 10-year-old Ashley Murphy celebrated her birthday with friends at a party last month, she hoped that her guests would bring many fun and exciting gifts to the festivities. Her wish list included items such as teddy bears, card games, crayons and markers, but surprisingly, these presents were not intended for the birthday girl. Instead, Ashley and her friends used the gifts to support families coping with cancer by creating Take Good Care Packs for the MGH Cancer Center.

The Take Good Care Packs are a family-focused intervention that MGH clinical social workers use to provide support and education when a parent is diagnosed with cancer. Backpacks are filled with a variety of educational, comforting, expressive and stress reducing items and are available for children in several age ranges. The goal of the program is to help parents talk with their children about the cancer diagnosis and the ways they can cope together as a family.

Ashley first learned about the Take Good Care Packs in January 2006, when her mother, Susan, an MGH employee (both pictured at right), was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother's illness was frightening, but the pack Ashley received helped her to cope. This experience led her to want to help other children in similar situations, so during her party, she and her friends personally stuffed more than 40 backpacks for school-age children. They later hand delivered the packs to the Cancer Center, where Ashley received a "Caring for Others" Award in recognition of her kindness and generosity.

"I loved getting the Take Good Care Pack," says Ashley. "It made me feel like the people at the hospital cared about me."

Susan agrees that the Take Good Care Pack was an important resource for her and Ashley. "After I got the diagnosis, my first worry was my daughter and how I was going to explain it to her," she says. "The pack provided me with a way to begin that discussion with Ashley. I am very proud of her for wanting to return the kindness she was shown during my treatment."

For more information about the program, contact Kathy Clair-Hayes, LICSW, at kclairhayes@partners.org. Packs are available in the Cancer Resource Rooms on Yawkey 8 and Cox 110.