Show your support & keep up to date
What We Do
- Home >
- What We Do >
- Patient Support >
- Bravery Beads
Bravery Beads
| Read more |
|---|
| Bravery Beads |
| A message from Carlton |
| All Pages |
Kids and cancer.
Two words that should never go together.
Every year, about 120 children aged 14 and under are diagnosed with cancer which is the most common cause of death in childhood, excluding accidents.
Cathy Henry, Turner Ward unit manager, has been nursing for almost 30 years. She’s spent considerable time in children’s oncology wards throughout Australia – and she said that it never gets easier watching her young patients battle their illnesses.
"Despite enormous improvements in cancer treatment in recent times, many of the procedures these little ones endure are painful and traumatic," Cathy said.
Yet once their painful procedure is over, they’ll often hug the nurse who has administered it.
That’s why Cathy and her wonderful team of nurses are excited about the launch of our Bravery Beads program. This powerful program was developed to acknowledge the immense courage of children coping with cancer and to reward them for their bravery.
When a child is diagnosed, they are given a set of beads spelling their name and a special sterling silver "Bead of Bravery". Each time they undergo a specific treatment, they will be presented with a bead that represents that procedure. The beads act as a visible reminder of each child’s unique journey through cancer treatment. The children then thread them together and wear them with pride.
Cathy has worked in other hospitals that run the Bravery Beads program, and she said it’s amazing how these little beads can lift the spirits of young patients.
"The children wear them like a badge of courage," Cathy said. "They have an important psychological benefit too because the children look forward to adding to their collection. They get to thinking: ‘I know this is going to hurt, but I get a new bead at the end of it’. And they’re not just a distraction, but something the child can keep with them throughout life to remind them of the enormous challenge they overcame in their childhood."
We’re starting this program in Oncology, but plan to extend it to other wards within the Royal Children’s Hospital.
You can support this wonderful initiative by donating to sponsor Bravery Bead kits for our young cancer patients.
See how Bravery Beads are helping sick kids in Canada
- © 2010 Royal Children's Hospital Foundation
- Lady Norman Building
- Royal Children's Hospital (rear entrance)
- Bramston Terrace
- HERSTON QLD 4006
- Phone: + 61 7 3852 1199
- Fax: +61 7 3252 1989
- contactus@workingwonders.com.au