Helping children with cancer is at the heart of the Aflac mission
It's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
In honor of this very special month, we pledge to continue our 25-year commitment to finding cures and providing hope to more families facing cancer. Our newsletter highlights insights and individuals making a difference in the pediatric cancer community, and we hope it will make your lives a little easier – and brighter. We're thinking of you and we're here for you. And if you have ideas, we're all ears.
Kara is a mother and certified child life specialist (CCLS) who empowers followers of her blog, Child Life Saver®, to help kids cope with medical experiences through intentional play and research-based interventions.
COVID-19 requires us to think outside the box in order to build rapport with patients. As a CCLS, I've found that play can bring a hospitalized child hope and healing, and there are plenty of ways to incorporate it during medical care that require either simple tools or just your imagination. I've compiled a list of creative ideas, which include using character masks and a bubble wand, to help you connect with young patients during the pandemic.
Our new Child Life Specialist Care Kit empowers medical professionals to use My Special Aflac Duck® with patients. Creator, Aaron Horowitz, shares a sneak peek of its unique features.
This month's superhero is Lindsay Carrick, a child life professional with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. She calls the opportunity to spend her days with those facing serious illness an honor. Lindsay played a key role in the creation of Aflac's Child Life Specialist Care Kit, and she's here to share how My Special Aflac Duck has been especially important during the pandemic.
This summer, a Georgia neighborhood threw a socially distant surprise parade for 14-year-old Ethan Daniels, who has been fighting lymphoblastic lymphoma for more than three years. "You aren't ever alone," Ethan shared at the event. "No matter where you are, people are always there."
