Families of children with cancer need psychological support

About 70 children in Latvia are diagnosed with cancer each year, and families often need psychological support during and after treatment, LSM reported. While treatment outcomes in paediatric oncology are relatively good, coping with the illness can be a severe emotional challenge for the whole family. Several state-funded support services are available, both in hospital and outside it, but not everyone knows about them.

Anna’s family life changed in 2024, when her child was diagnosed with cancer. The child spent a year and a half in hospital. The illness has now been overcome, but the experience remains with the family. Anna learned about psychosocial rehabilitation from other mothers and has used the service with her child for a second year.

“For the child, this rehabilitation means meeting again the children they were on the ward with. For us mothers, our journeys are very similar. The diagnoses are different, but the experience is much the same, so we understand each other’s emotions and can unburden ourselves,” Anna said.

About 70 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed in Latvia each year, while several hundred patients remain under specialist supervision. Anna Valaine, a paediatric haematologist and oncologist at Children’s Clinical University Hospital, said the experience is emotionally difficult for any parent. Parents cannot control whether treatment succeeds, and the many procedures make psychological support especially important, she said.

Outside hospital, one option is a state-funded psychosocial rehabilitation programme run by the association Dzīvības koks in Dignāja, a place in Sēlija. Children and parents can receive consultations with psychologists and take part in various therapies and activities to help them cope with the emotional strain caused by illness.

“Some arrive very motivated to work on themselves and find where their strength lies. At first they may not even realise it, but the instructors emphasise that everyone has some resources. They may be exhausted and drained by the difficult journey of treatment,” said Ināra Pomere, a board member of Dzīvības koks.