Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.
Support organization
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance is a Houston-area nonprofit founded by families of children with cancer to provide emotional, educational, and practical support. It supports children and their families during treatment, survivorship, and bereavement, but access to its family programs is tied to treatment through Texas Children's Cancer Center, including satellite campuses, MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital, or Children's Memorial Hermann. Families begin by completing the online Candlelighters registration; the site says a Parent Consultant will contact them within 72 hours. Parent Consultants provide peer support and navigation and connect registered families with hospital parking, meals, gas and grocery assistance, practical supplies, support groups, camps, seasonal programs, and bereavement help. Programs and events are offered at no cost, but assistance is subject to funding and is not guaranteed.
Provides no-cost emotional, educational, and practical support to eligible Houston-area childhood-cancer families from diagnosis through survivorship or bereavement.
Houston-area practical, emotional, educational, recreational, and bereavement support for families of children with cancer.
Holiday help for your family after a child's cancer diagnosis or death. Ask what this year's gifts include.
Helps with: Practical Items And Home Help, Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
An end-of-treatment celebration kit with decorations and a bell.
Helps with: Practical Items And Home Help, Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
A free whole-family camp weekend with shared activities.
Helps with: Camps And Retreats, Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
A free November 2026 festival with games, carnival activities, raffles, food, music and a costume contest.
Helps with: Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Gifts, treats, crafts, and family activities during hospital care.
Helps with: Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Gas and grocery gift cards, hospital meals and parking help, toiletries, and basic supplies. The amount isn't published. Ask.
Helps with: Meals And Food, Practical Items And Home Help, Travel And Transportation
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Grocery-store gift cards for Thanksgiving meals. The amount isn't published. Ask.
Helps with: Meals And Food, Practical Items And Home Help, Wishes And Family Experiences
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Help with funeral expenses, paid straight to the funeral home. The amount isn't published. Ask.
Helps with: Bereavement And Memorial Support
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Time with a parent who has had a child with cancer, for listening, practical guidance, advocacy, and help finding resources.
Helps with: Navigation Guides And Advocacy
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Parent Consultants lead weekly groups for parents whose child is on treatment, off treatment, or has died.
Helps with: Peer And Emotional Support
Where: Local rules apply
Care team must start: No
Resource Directory
This public curated directory points families to outside organizations for on-treatment housing, grief support, financial assistance, disability transportation, and college scholarships. The links are discovery aids only; each outside program’s current eligibility and availability must be verified on that organization’s official source.
Topics: financial assistance, grief support, housing, scholarships, transportation
Journal · Patient Support Material
My Cancer Journal is described as a private place for a child or young person to process thoughts and feelings during cancer treatment. A public download is not listed; families access it through Candlelighters’ registered-family and Parent Consultant pathway.
Topics: coping, emotional support, treatment experience
Newsletter
The public archive collects newsletters with family-relevant material such as school issues, emotional support, childhood-cancer information, calendars, survivor and on-treatment stories, and memorials. The archive currently lists issues from 2017 through Spring 2026, and readers may request email or printed delivery.
Topics: bereavement, childhood cancer information, emotional support, events, school, survivorship
Organization details were last verified Aug 24, 2026. Program availability can change.
