Childhood Cancer Guide for Parents, New Diagnosis Help, What to Do the First Week, Cancer Family Support, Printable Start Here Guide

Through Treatment, Together: Start Here
Your guide to the pages and the things you don't know yet (but will). 23 pages.
Part of the Through Treatment, Together pack from Harper's Heart Press.

When your child is diagnosed with cancer, nobody hands you a map. You don't know who to ask for, what to write down, how to tell your other kids, or what to say to your boss. This guide is the map. It shows you what to do in week one, which book in the pack is for whom and why each worksheet helps and when to use it. Then it walks you through the things families learn along the way, from the first week to the last day of treatment, so you can ask your care team sooner.

Every practical tip ends the same way: ask your care team, your hospital, your school or your employer what applies to you. It's a guide for the questions, not a source of medical advice.

WHAT'S INSIDE (23 PAGES)

Start Here
• A personal note from me, written as a mom who sat in pediatric oncology waiting rooms for three and a half years
• A note for you and how to use this guide
• Which book is for whom: parents, little ones (2-6), kids (7-12), teens, siblings and the grandparents and friends who want to help
• Where to begin in week one, with a short "this week, I've asked" checklist
• What to reach for, by stage: diagnosis week, during treatment, scan days, end of treatment

The Worksheet Guide (9 pages)
• Every worksheet in every book of the pack, with one or two plain sentences on why it helps, when to use it and the research behind it, named simply

Things You Don't Know Yet, But Will
• The first week: the social worker and child life specialist, one running question list, saying no to visitors, who to tell first
• The first month, work and money: FMLA questions for HR, insurance call notes, the financial counselor, parking and gas help
• The first month, school, siblings and home: starting a meal calendar early, school while your child is out (homebound or hospital teachers, 504 plans), sibling support
• The middle months: the long middle, scanxiety, friends who fade and friends who show up, sibling time, your own body
• End of treatment: why the bell can feel strange, worry after treatment ends and survivorship clinics to ask your care team about
• My running question list (print as many as you need)

At the end
• Find your circle: childhood cancer support organizations and crisis help
• A thank-you page with a 25% off code, a link to my shop and an invitation to ask for custom gifts

WHAT YOU'LL RECEIVE
5 PDF files, 23 pages each:
• Fillable – US Letter (type right on the pages on a computer, tablet or phone)
• Full color – US Letter (8.5 x 11 in)
• Full color – A4
• Printer-friendly (white background, saves ink) – US Letter
• Printer-friendly – A4

WHO IT'S FOR
• Parents and caregivers of a child or teen newly diagnosed with cancer, or months into treatment
• Anyone who bought the Through Treatment, Together pack and wants to know where to start
• A thoughtful gift for a family who just heard the word "cancer": useful, gentle and it asks nothing of them
• Child life specialists, social workers and support groups (please message me about group licensing)

HOW IT WORKS
• This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped to you.
• After checkout, your files appear under You > Purchases and Reviews on Etsy and in your Etsy confirmation email.
• Print at home or at a local print shop, or type right into the fillable file on a computer, tablet or phone.
• The fillable file works best in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (on a computer, tablet or phone). Other PDF apps may not save typing and some rating circles may let you pick more than one answer. To write by hand on a tablet, open any version in an app like GoodNotes or Notability.
• Print the question list as many times as you need for your own family's personal use.

A NOTE FROM ME
Hi, I'm Niki. I'm a mom and a certified grief educator. In November 2022, my daughter Harper was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at fifteen and for three and a half years I sat in waiting rooms like yours. In those first days, there was so much I didn't know yet. This guide hands what families learn along the way to you, sooner. Harper's favorite quote was "You're stronger than you think." I believe that about you, too.

Real tears. Real love.
Harper's Heart Press

PLEASE NOTE
• This guide is not medical, legal or financial advice and does not replace your child's care team, your school or your employer. Always follow your care team's instructions.
• Programs and laws named in the guide (like FMLA and Section 504) have their own rules. Ask your HR office or your school what applies to you.
• It is not therapy. If you or anyone in your family is in crisis or thinking about ending their life, please call or text 988 (U.S.) or your local emergency number.
• For personal use only. Please don't share, resell, or redistribute the files. Hospitals, social workers and support groups, please message me about group licensing.
• Because this is a digital file, returns and exchanges aren't accepted. If anything is wrong with your download, message me and I'll make it right.
• Colors may look slightly different depending on your screen and printer.

MORE FROM THROUGH TREATMENT, TOGETHER
• Get them all: Through Treatment, Together: The Complete Pack. All 7 books (Start Here, the parent journal, My Brave Days, My Treatment Adventure Book, You're Stronger Than You Think, Me Too and How to Show Up) plus the 4 hospital printables, for $49.55. Find it in the Cancer Families section of my shop.
• Through Treatment, Together: a journal for parents of a child with cancer
• My Brave Days: a coloring story for little ones (ages 2-6)
• My Treatment Adventure Book (ages 7-12)
• You're Stronger Than You Think: a private journal for teens
• Me Too: a sibling's book for cancer treatment
• How to Show Up: for grandparents, friends and neighbors
• Hospital printables: door sign, packing lists, countdown and last-day certificate