Perspectives

Each day, 43 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer.

Annually, that is over 15,000 new childhood cancer diagnoses.

If you continue to do the math, understanding that length of treatment varies, this could mean that at any given moment, there are over 50,000 families living through childhood cancer.

Those numbers are overwhelming but behind each diagnosis is one family experiencing a dramatic impact on their lives.

These families are now living in the before and after of diagnosis. They are filled with moms, dads, the child on treatment, and siblings—all coping in different ways.

Living through childhood cancer is not easy; it is painful and overwhelming physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. Families must make many adjustments and learn a new normal together. In some states, there are plenty of resources and organizations available to help support families on this difficult journey. However, in too many states, there are no resources or support systems. Many families find themselves on an island, with little information and little support to help them navigate these challenging waters.

At Lighthouse Family Retreat, our mission is to strengthen these families living through childhood cancer by providing restorative retreats and helpful resources. For 20 years, we have served over 3000 families on beach retreats and 2020 is the year we introduce the second part of our mission—helpful resources.

It is our desire to be a beacon for every family living through childhood cancer & their support systems—near and far— by providing them with encouragement, information, and tools to adjust to this new normal, knowledge that they are not alone, and hope that there is someone out there who cares and is praying for them.

It is our hope that each week this blog will provide you with different “Perspectives.” Perspectives that offer encouragement, or maybe offer some information that was a missing puzzle piece, or remind you that you are not alone in this fight, or maybe, give you a smile to help you get through a hard week. This blog is for you AND for anyone you know that can be encouraged by our weekly content.