Emanuel Cancer Center Provides Support for Children Impacted by Cancer

Turlock, Calif. – Cancer can be scary, especially for children. Emanuel Cancer Center is here to provide emotional support and a safe place for children with a loved one diagnosed with cancer.

Emanuel Cancer Center offers Monkey Business for children and teens, ages 5-17. Through meaningful and therapeutic activities, expressive art, games and stories, Monkey Business provides support and coping skills for children and their families.

“Watching these children interact with one another and get to know others who are going through the same experience as they are, is priceless,” said Sara Briggs, Monkey Business Coordinator. “We have the goal of helping these kids understand cancer and try to process their feelings. We provide coping skills to help ease their feelings of anger, sadness and fear.”

Participants eat dinner together in a large group and then separate into smaller groups based on their age. Parents and guardians also have the opportunity to participate in an adult support group.

Monkey Business – led by trained volunteers and staff – runs from 4-5:30 p.m. Upcoming group dates are: May 6, May 20 and June 3. The program will take a break during the summer months, but will meet one-on-one with participants, if needed. The program will then pick up again in August.

Monkey Business is free and open to any child in the community. For more information or to register, please call (209) 664-5044. Pre-registration is required.

At Emanuel Cancer Center, we understand the importance of providing support for community members impacted by cancer. We offer a variety of support groups for patients and their support system network:

• THRIVE Cancer Support Group – Open to all adult cancer patients, caregivers and cancer survivors in our community. Facilitated by our social workers, we explore various topics related to coping with cancer, stress reduction, complimentary therapies and survivorship.
• Healing Images: Creative Expression through Art – Monthly group open to all adults in our community who are impacted by cancer. Each month, a licensed art therapist leads a new and easy expressive project. No art experience necessary and all supplies are provided.
• Chair Yoga – All cancer patients and caregivers are welcome to join. This is a gentle, seated, go-at-your-own-pace class tailor-made for cancer patients.
• Massage Therapy – Complimentary half-hour massage therapy appointments are available for all cancer patients in treatment and caregivers.
• Men’s Support – Chaplain Robert, himself a cancer survivor, offers support unique to the needs of men, whether you are the patient or you are supporting a loved one through cancer.
• Young Adults with Cancer – If you are a young adult (ages 18-30) diagnosed with cancer, we offer support tailored specially for you.
• Online Cancer Support – There are a variety of excellent online and phone cancer support communities available for those impacted by cancer.
• Free Wig Bank and Resource Room – The American Cancer Society provides a complimentary wig to any woman experiencing cancer and hair loss. We also have complimentary hats, scarves and lap blankets. Our resource library has materials available on nearly every kind of cancer, as well as materials relating to nutrition, coping with cancer, caregiver support, family concerns, inspiration and more.