The Presence of CCI’s Cofounder at MAHAK Parents’ Group Meeting

The weekly meeting of MAHAK parents’ group was held with the presence of the cofounder of Childhood Cancer International (CCI).

Professor Dr. Gerlind Bode, the cofounder and advisor of CCI and Co-founder and Board member of local parent initiative for children with cancer (Förderkreis) in Bonn in Germany and CEO of German national organization of parent initiative, participated in MAHAK parents’ group meeting along with Dr. Patricia Scanlan a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and the CEO of TLM TZ (caring for children with cancer in Tanzania).

Other participants of the meeting were the parents and their cancer-stricken children. The parents talked about their worries and concerns and shared their experiences with one another. One of the mothers described her reaction at the time when her child was diagnosed with cancer, another mother who was unwilling to talk about her feelings because it reminded her of the difficulties she had been through preferred to listen to others and learn. One of the fathers shared his experience on the sort of changes which happened to him at the time his child was diagnosed with cancer. Professor Bode continued the meeting by talking about German national organization of parent initiative’s activities.

At the end of the meeting the parents and children made snacks and ate them along with the guests.

Members of MAHAK’s parents group are the parents of cancer-stricken children who are deceased or are in remission. They gather in a meeting with the families of cancer-stricken children and share their experiences with them so that they better accept the facts about their children. At MAHAK, we try to prevent the families from feeling lonely and help them not forget to do the routine activities they are supposed to do in a family even when they are involved with their children’s long-term treatment. We believe that with the contribution of our supporters the families of children with cancer can overcome the difficulties and can create happy moments.