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Children’s hospices

We have worked with a number of children’s hospices to help families facing the loss of a child.

Tremendous progress has been made in the treatment of childhood cancer in recent years – around three-quarters of children diagnosed with cancer now survive. For around 200 children a year in the UK, however, treatment is not successful. At Children with Cancer UK, we work alongside children’s hospices and do what we can to help families facing the loss of a child.

Read our annual review

About children’s hospices

Caring for a child with a life-limiting condition can be emotionally, physically and financially demanding. Hospices provide a range of services both at home and in the hospice to help families cope with their situation – and to help them make the most of every day. Hospice services include short breaks and daytime activities enabling families to have a break, help with symptom control and pain relief, and support for family members, including siblings. When the time comes for the child to die, the children’s hospice services are there to provide end of life care and bereavement support for as long as it’s needed, helping families to approach death with dignity and peace. All children’s hospice services are charities, relying overwhelmingly on public generosity to continue to provide their services to families in need.

Funding essential hospice care

In 2012, we allocated funding to help children’s hospices across the UK:
  • We provided funding of £180,000 to Together for Short Lives, enabling them to support children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions
  • We provided funding of £60,000 to Shooting Star Chase to provide practical and emotional support for families in West London, Surrey and West Sussex
  • We awarded £60,000 to Lifelites, providing fun and educational technology for children who stay, play and learn in children’s hospices across the UK.

Improving the lives of terminally ill children

In addition to providing funds for hospices, we donated £85,733 in 2010 to Marie Curie Cancer Care. This helped to fund research into improving the lives of terminally ill children. We are supporting an End of Life Care Research Associate at Great Ormond Street Hospital to carry out practical research that will have a practical impact on children and families so that no child needs to suffer severe pain or other negative symptoms at the end of their lives. Please help us to continue supporting children with cancer and their families. Please donate today
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