Parenting with Cancer Clinic
Parents with cancer not only have to cope with their illness and treatment — they also must grapple with how best to talk with their children about cancer, how to manage increased family stress, and how to ensure that practical matters like legal and financial affairs are in order.
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic provides a dedicated space and time for parents to address these issues in ways that are tailored to their individual and family’s needs. Our aim is to help families cope with the present – and plan for the future.
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic at the N.C. Basnight Cancer Hospital, part of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, helps parents navigate those questions and get the help and support they need.
Call (919) 966-3494 to connect with the clinic
Our Services
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic is open to any person being treated for cancer at UNC Health who is caring for a child under the age of 18, regardless of prognosis or cancer type.
During the clinic visit, parents will meet with a psychologist and a lawyer to address their family’s specific needs.
In-person or telehealth appointments are available, and visits are free of charge.
Therapeutic Services
Establishing trust with children around issues related to their parent’s cancer diagnosis and treatment is key to helping the entire family cope with this major life change.
In the Parenting with Cancer Clinic, parents are guided on how to initiate and maintain family discussions that are honest, timely, and reassuring. These are difficult conversations for most families, and time during each clinic visit is devoted to problem-solving possible barriers to open communication and anticipating children’s responses.
Parents are understandably concerned about how their children will react to increased stress, worries, and changes brought about by their illness and treatment. We help parents anticipate the emotional and behavioral changes that their children may experience and plan for how to support their children in loving and age-appropriate ways.
Legal Services
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic offers patients information about the importance of documenting their health care and estate planning goals.
We discuss the role that Advance Directives for Health Care, Financial Powers of Attorney, Wills and Guardianship of Minors play in a comprehensive estate plan.
Based on the patient’s unique circumstances and wishes, we offer resources for helping them achieve their estate planning goals.
For patients with financial means to retain a private attorney, we’ll help them begin the process of thinking about their goals and encouraging them to begin the process of getting help documenting their wishes.
For our families with a financial barrier to finding and retaining legal services, we partner with the legal community to offer low-cost and free estate planning services.
Our Team
Connect with Services
Please call (919) 966-3494 or visit the Mary Anne Long Patient and Family Resource Center on the ground floor of the N.C. Basnight Cancer Hospital.
Our Supporters
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic is supported by the UNC Lineberger Center for Triple Negative Breast Cancer, the University Cancer Research Fund and private gifts, including the Lynn Hall Parenting with Cancer Fund.
The Parenting with Cancer Clinic is part of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Support Program, which is led by Dr. Donald Rosenstein.