For families of children with cancer, the end of treatment is often viewed as a milestone worth celebrating. But after months away from home for hospital stays and appointments, the transition back to everyday life can bring new financial and emotional challenges.
Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC) hopes to ease that burden through a new Welcome Home Package, which will provide families with a $1,000 payment upon completion of treatment or at relapse.
The program is one of the first initiatives made possible through a new three-year, $150,000 partnership with the Masonic Foundation of Ontario. The funding provides greater stability for the Sudbury-based charity as it continues to support families across Northern Ontario.
For Candy Beatty, NOFCC’s program and event coordinator, the need for the new program became clear as families returning home from treatment often turned to emergency funding to help cover everyday expenses.
“When families leave the hospital, everybody immediately almost applies for the emergency funds,” Beatty said.
The Welcome Home Package is designed to give families a financial cushion before they reach that point.
“It’s to fill fridges and gas tanks, pay for a cell phone bill — anything that they need,” she said.
Unlike emergency assistance, families do not have to apply for the new program. Once treatment ends, they will automatically receive the $1,000 payment.
The need for support continues to grow as the cost-of-living rises.
Beatty said NOFCC’s emergency funding program has become one of its most frequently accessed services, helping families with costs such as prescriptions, transportation, parking, taxis and other expenses not covered elsewhere.
For many northwestern Ontario families, the challenges extend far beyond medical treatment. Some must travel hundreds of kilometres to access specialized care in the likes of Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, often forcing families to spend weeks or months away from their homes.
“A lot of people have more than one child,” Beatty said. “So, when they have to travel to Toronto or London from Thunder Bay, for example, they have to leave their family at home.”
The strain can affect the entire family. NOFCC helps cover services like counselling and tutoring for siblings and family members, recognizing that childhood cancer impacts more than just the patient.
Some families choose to stay together near treatment centres, but that can come with high additional costs. While facilities such as Ronald McDonald House provide support, families may still need to pay for hotels or short-term rentals so they can remain together during a child’s treatment.
“It’s expensive,” Beatty said.
The organization’s support extends throughout Ontario’s “P” postal code region, covering 11 districts from Parry Sound to the Manitoba border. In recent months, NOFCC has also begun working with CancerCare Manitoba to support families from communities such as Kenora and Thunder Bay who travel to Winnipeg for treatment.
For Beatty, one of the most meaningful signs of NOFCC’s impact is seeing families return long after treatment has ended. Many former families return to volunteer at NOFCC events, family fun days and holiday celebrations, and some have even gone on to work with the organization.
As NOFCC approaches its 30th anniversary in 2028, Beatty said community support remains the foundation of the organization’s work. Without government funding or hospital support, NOFCC relies entirely on donations and fundraising to continue offering its 27 programs to families facing childhood cancer.
“We could not have done this for the last 28 years without them,” she said.
“For us to even try to lift that weight a little bit and be successful in that, it’s amazing,” Beatty said.
