The Children's Treehouse Foundation

"The hardest part of my cancer journey has been telling my 9 and 11 year-old daughters that I have cancer." 

Not chemo, not exhaustion, not hair loss; telling her kids. 

The Children's Treehouse Foundation created the CLIMB® program to provide invaluable support to families impacted by cancer. Our art-based, evidence-backed program helps reduce stress for families by equipping adults and children with the tools to confront challenging emotions. Education and a shared vocabulary helps nurture communication to keep families strong.

This year 749,000 children will be told, "Your mom/dad has cancer." Help us continue to get CLIMB® into new facilities, because the need is already there. 

Testimonials

Cancer centers revere our program, as evidenced by these statements:

"The Children's Treehouse Foundation's CLIMB® Program has been an invaluable tool for the oncology patients, children, and staff at MD Anderson throughout the past eight years. CLIMB® not only benefits the professionals who receive training by providing practical tools to implement the program, it also provides an immeasurable experience and crucial support to the families who participate. Over the years, we have assisted more than 150 children and their parents, and the coping support they receive through the program is priceless."
-Marisa B. Nowitz, MSW, LCSW, Social Work Counselor
The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX.
and this:

"We absolutely love the CLIMB® Program and all 10 kids are coming. This is the most rewarding program I have ever done in my career!"
- Blair Edgar, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker, Sacred Heart Cancer Center, Pensacola, FL

Antonica has breast cancer and two families; older children from her first marriage and four younger children ranging in age from 7 - 12 from her current marriage. She had a "we can talk about anything about my cancer" policy with her children. Her four younger children went through CLIMB®, our support program, and Antonica learned that her open approach was still not enough. CLIMB® helped her know her kids weren't talking to her about her cancer because they didn't want to upset her or make her worse! The CLIMB® Program is what helped Antonica create the "open" policy she was after.

There's more. Antonica's 24-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Instead of the younger children being overlooked because no one knew quite what to say to them, they became part of the treatment plan. Because of what they learned in CLIMB® they went with their older sister to her first hospital visit, introduced her to the doctors; showed her the treatment machines they had learned about in CLIMB®. They were empowered to be part of the solution for their older sister.