Cancer treatment can be very costly. To help ease the financial burden, many agencies offer assistance. The social workers in the hospital where your child is treated are excellent resources for locating agencies that can help pay for some of the costs, and guide you to federal programs such Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). To find out more about what these programs offer, the National Children's Cancer Society web site offers a helpful overview in the "Financial Assistance" section. Many of the other web sites we list in the Links section of this site also offer financial help -- some even have their own programs to help defray your costs.

If this is the first time you're asking for financial assistance, rest assured you are not alone. Parents who took advantage of these programs when their children were undergoing cancer treatment report a great sense of relief knowing that some of their financial burden has been lifted, freeing them up to devote more energy to their child. In many cases -- notably private foundations dedicated to assisting childhood cancer patients and their families -- funds exist solely to assist families like yours. The funder’s mission is to help people like you, so take advantage!