With a vision to treat the whole patient - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually ¨ nurses and counselors at DeKalb Medical Center's Cancer Center began holding support groups 15 years ago, with a variety of groups that meet weekly.
"About 11 years ago, I was working with a family support group, and all the patients were worried about their kids," said Rose McKeever, nurse case manager on the cancer support team at DeKalb Medical. "What should they tell them? How could they ease their fears?
"Cancer is an overwhelming diagnosis, both for the patient and the other parent who needs to care for them. Children, who have a sixth sense when something is wrong, suffer, too. They act out, get cranky, irritable or withdrawn."
McKeever began searching for an Atlanta support group for children whose parents or grandparents had cancer ¨ and she couldn't find one. "Clearly, there was a need, so we did some research and started our own: The Tree House Gang," she said.
The group is open to any Atlanta child who has a family member who has been diagnosed with cancer.
One key to the The Tree House Gang's success has been scheduling. Kindergarteners through high school students meet three weeks in a row every three months and two Saturdays a year for reunions. "That takes into account children's busy schedules and provides support without teaching them co-dependency," said McKeever, who leads the group with child therapist Stephanie Medlin. Another key ingredient is that the group blends education and therapy with fun. At the first session, group members talk about what's going on in their families and what cancer is.
"We have them draw family portraits," McKeever said. "With adult support groups, it takes awhile to get people to talk. You put popcorn and juice boxes, paper, crayons and markers in front of kids in a relaxed atmosphere, and they really open up."
Each child talks about who in his or her family has cancer. The counselors assure the children that their relatives' cancer is not their fault.
"If they've been angry with the parent, they may feel guilty. We tell them we don't always know what causes cancer," McKeever said.
The second session explores treatment and what happens to their loved ones in the hospital. The gang tours a lab to view blood cells and platelets in the microscope. They see the blood bank and the radiation center.
"We've had children go back and tell their parents not to worry about radiation because it's not scary and doesn't hurt," she said.
In diagnostic imaging, they get a look at an MRI machine and CT scanner and view images with the radiologist who tells them what the images show inside the body.
In the last session, the group members discuss how cancer in the family affects them.
"We talk about emotions like anger or fear and what we can do to express them appropriately - kicking a soccer ball vs. trashing a room, for example," McKeever said. "We play games where one team acts out an emotion and the other side has to guess it. We try and teach them coping skills for life."
A favorite annual activity is making holiday cards, which the hospital prints and sells in the gift shop and the children sell at booths in local malls. Each card has the child's name on it and his or her relative's diagnosis. This year, there are 22 Christmas cards ($15 per pack) and one Hanukkah card ($5 per pack).
"The money we raise goes back into the program," McKeever said. "We never recoup the printing costs, but it doesn't matter because the kids get so excited about this project every year.
"You know they're enthralled when you announce 'the pizza is here' and no one even looks up from their artwork." The children take great pride in the cards, but bringing them together is the underlying purpose.
"When they see other kids whose parents have cancer, they realize they are not alone," McKeever said. "Some of the best counseling these children receive is from each other."