Our services for children and families

The Irish Cancer Society provides free services to all those affected by cancer, including children and their families.

The Irish Cancer Society's Children's Fund

Care Kits

A childhood cancer diagnosis brings so many challenges and we know families may often find themselves in hospital suddenly or without time to prepare. Our free Care Kit is an overnight bag filled with some essentials that you can have ready to go for when you need it. 

What’s included: Designed to help provide a sense of comfort, care and organisation when families need it most we’ve created the packs in consultation with families and expert nurses and it includes useful personal care items such as deodorant, moisturizer and practical things like a reusable cup and a cool bag.  

Children under 16 years of age will receive their pack upon completion of the Irish Cancer Society’s Children's Fund application. Your medical social worker will assist you on the fund application. For more information on the fund speak to your medical social worker or by calling our Freephone Support Line on 1800 200 700.

Special thanks to Boots Ireland and The Head Plan for contributing to the Care Kits.

Creative Arts Therapy

The Irish Cancer Society offers free Creative Arts Therapy support for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults (CAYA) with or in survivorship of cancer (0-24) and their siblings. Creative Arts Therapies include; Art Therapy, Dramatherapy and Music Therapy and can be used to support the psychosocial needs of a young person.

If you’re interested in availing of Creative Arts Therapy support sessions, please email creativeartstherapy@irishcancer.ie and one of our team will be in touch.

Learn More About Creative Arts Therapy

Residential Barretstown Camps

The Irish Cancer Society runs various Barretstown camps for children, their families living with cancer. Attendees enjoy a free weekend away full of activities, adventure, creative play, and relaxation. 

24/7 medical support behind the scenes and information on cancer resources and support are also available.

We run camps each spring and autumn. For more information on dates and the applicant process for the camps, please email us below:

Email the CAYA team

Julie Wren Complimentary Therapy Service

The Julie Wren Complementary Therapy service in the National Children’s Cancer Centre in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin opened in December 2011 thanks to the generosity of Esther Wren & supporters in loving memory of her daughter Julie who sadly passed away of cancer at the age of eight.  Irish Cancer Society took over funding the service in CHI in 2023.

The Complementary Therapy Service in the Haematology/Oncology unit at Children’s Health Ireland provide a range of holistic complimentary therapies to patients and their parents/guardians when in hospital. The complementary therapist provides ongoing support through a range of therapies that include Massage, Reflexology, Indian Head Massage, Baby Massage Aromatherapy, Mindfulness, and Meditation. These therapies are conducted in a warm, safe and confidential space.

• Treatments: Treatments are gentle and relaxing. Applied appropriately, they do not cause unpleasant side effects. However, you may feel sleepy afterwards. When deeply relaxed, some people find that emotions surface. If this happens, your therapist will support you and may suggest someone to talk to if you wish. The majority of people just feel pleasantly relaxed during their treatment and refreshed afterwards.
• Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils (plant extracts) to help promote health and well-being. Aromatherapy is used during treatments, and the oils are absorbed through the skin during massage. The essential oils are diluted in a carrier oil or beeswax balm. Inhalation of essential oils occurs during treatments, while using a diffuser and aroma tissues.
• Meditation: Meditation can help to relax and calm the mind and body. The practice of meditation involves focusing your attention on one thing. There are many types of meditation. All methods work by really concentrating on something specific and when the mind wanders to refocus the attention back to the original object of concentration. Our meditation practices include guided visualisation, breathing, body scan and mindfulness.
• Reflexology: Meditation can help to relax and calm the mind and body. The practice of meditation involves focusing your attention on one thing. There are many types of meditation. All methods work by really concentrating on something specific and when the mind wanders to refocus the attention back to the original object of concentration. Our meditation practices include guided visualisation, breathing, body scan and mindfulness.
• Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of purposeful, focused awareness on the present moment without judgment. Practising mindfulness can help to create resilience and hope. Mindfulness practices may involve breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to help relax the body and mind.
• Indian Head Massage: - Indian head massage is carried out using a variety of massage strokes and acupressure points along the head, face, neck, shoulders and upper arms. Indian head massage is used to promote relaxation and relieve tension.
• Massage: Massage involves the gentle rhythmical touch with movements varied to suit individual needs, to promote relaxation and ease tension or pain.

How to make an appointment?

Referral to this service is through your Children’s Health Ireland Cancer medical team. If you would like to receive treatment, speak to a nurse or any healthcare professional in the Cancer Unit in CHI at Crumlin.  A member of the complementary therapy team will contact you to discuss your referral and arrange an appointment, which will take place in the Julie Wren complementary therapy room or in your own patient room.

This service is provided Monday to Friday. You will be allocated an appointment time, and each session lasts from fifteen minutes to one hour. Your therapist will adjust the length of your treatment depending on your needs.

You can find out more information about the complimentary therapy by contacting the service on 01 428 2792 0r 4096100. You can also contact the Children's Cancer Co-ordinator at the Irish Cancer Society at +353 1 968 3745—you can also email them via the button below.

Email Our CAYA Team

Help with transportation costs to hospital

Travel2Care is a fund, made available by the National Cancer Control Programme and managed by the Irish Cancer Society. It is for patients who are having difficulty getting to and from their treatments while attending one of the centres of excellence or their satellites.

Free support over the phone and email

Our Support Line nurses can give advice on all types of cancer, coping, supports available and more. You can ask to talk to our Children’s Cancer nurse. Our Support Line is free to call on 1800 200 700 for parents of children with cancer. You can also email the nurses at supportline@irishcancer.ie.

In-home end-of-life nursing care

We provide end-of-life care for cancer patients in their own home. Our specialist palliative care nurses care for patients of all ages, including children.

Read more about palliative care and our Night Nursing service for children.

One-to-one advice and information

Our Daffodil Centres are located in 13 hospitals nationwide. The centres are staffed by cancer nurses and trained volunteers who provide confidential advice, support and information to anyone affected by cancer, including children and family of children going through cancer.

Childhood Cancer Fertility Project

The Childhood Cancer Fertility Project is a partnership between the Irish Cancer Society and Merrion Fertility Clinic which aims to ensure that, where possible, lifesaving treatment for children does not come at the cost of their future dreams of parenthood. Read more about the project and its aims. We also have information on fertility and children's cancer.

Play Specialist Funding

The Irish Cancer Society contributes funds towards the Play Specialist position in St Luke’s Radiation Oncology Ward, Dublin.

The Play Specialist Service supports children across the patient journey and improves the patient experience for children diagnosed with cancer and being treated in St Luke’s. The role of the Play Specialist is to provide medically noninvasive, pain-free interventions, including organising play and art activities in the playroom or at the bedside; helping children and adolescents cope with anxieties and feelings; and using play to prepare for cancer treatments and procedures for children with cancer attending Radiation Oncology.

Referral to this service is through your medical team in St Luke's. 

Funding For Emotional Support Services

The Irish Cancer Society funds Hand in Hand - Children’s Cancer Charity.  

Hand in Hand provides in-house and external play therapy support to children around Ireland who have a cancer diagnosis, and their siblings. Play therapy allows children time and space to play out and express their feelings through their most natural method of communication: play.

The new playroom within their centre in Loughrea, Co. Galway, holds the play therapy ‘tool kit’, which includes sand, clay, puppets, role-play, art materials, therapeutic stories, creative visualisations, and music/movement. 

Hand in Hand also provide adult counselling for parents across the country. Face-to-face counselling is available in the West of Ireland, and secure online counselling support is available in the rest of the country.  

Requests for these services can be made to Hand in Hand directly via the button below.

Information about childhood cancer

We produce booklets specifically for children with cancer. These books are sponsored by the Irish Cancer Society or produced in partnership with specialist paediatric centres and healthcare professionals: 

• Children and Young People with Cancer (A Guide for Parents) – This booklet is written for parents whose child has been diagnosed with cancer.
• Understanding brain and spinal cord tumours in children - A guide for parents of children with a brain tumour
• My child has finished cancer treatment - A guide to follow-up care and adjusting to life after treatment for parents and carers 
• Precious Times - A handbook on palliative care for parents of children with cancer
• Guide for families of children receiving proton beam therapy - This leaflet will tell you all you need to know if your child is going to have proton beam therapy abroad. (Download only)
• Supporting brothers and sisters of a child with cancer - A practical information guide for parents and other adults who are caring for siblings of a child with cancer
• When your child's cancer comes back - Information for parents and families of a child or young person with relapsed or refractory cancer.

We cover design, print and distribution costs for these materials, working with specialist paediatric centres and healthcare professionals on the content.

All of our publications are available by calling the Support Line on Freephone 1800 200 700 or in hospitals and Daffodil Centres across the country. You can also download them.