The Trish Greene Back to School Program For Children With Cancer offers free information and materials to parents and educators. The program was developed to encourage communication among parents, young patients, healthcare professionals and school personnel to assure children a smooth transition from active treatment to back to school.
To provide these resources to your patients, see below or contact an Blood Cancer United Information Specialist.
Blood Cancer United's Free Booklets and Videos
- Caring for Kids and Adolescents with Blood Cancer: A Workbook for Families: This workbook is written for the parent/guardian of a minor child (up to age 18), and includes information about caring for your child, treatment options, school, nutrition, financial and legal issues, and more. This Family Workbook includes a set of set of worksheets and activities and includes a tote, journal, pen, and pill organizer.
- Stars Will Twinkle, The Sun Will Shine: This is a three-book series for young patients and their families about Olivia, a girl who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The series follows Olivia and her family as she is diagnosed with leukemia, goes to the hospital for treatment, and returns to school. Also available in Spanish: Las estrellas brillarán, el sol también.
- Daniel's Story: A Sibling's Experience with Cancer (This is a companion to the Stars Will Twinkle, The Sun Will Shine book series.)
- A Parent’s Guide to School and Childhood Cancer: This booklet can help parents advocate for their child's educational needs. It examines the learning challenges your child may face both during and after cancer treatment, laws that protect the educational needs of children with cancer, and specific ways that schools can help meet a child's educational needs.
- Survivorship Workbook for Children and Adolescents (Navigating Life During and After a Blood Cancer Diagnosis): Use this workbook to collect all the important information you need throughout diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and long-term management of a blood cancer.
- Nutrition Handbook for Parents: Feeding your children and building healthy habits: This handbook can help you provide your child with healthy foods and teach them healthy eating patterns. Also included is a children’s booklet called Food Fun: Nutrition to learn, grow and play, so your child can learn about nutrition too!
- Coloring and Activity Books:
- Pictures of My Journey Coloring Book: This coloring and activity book can help children ages 3 to 11 cope with the new people, situations, and concerns that are part of the childhood cancer experience.
- The Stem Cell Transplant Coloring Book: This coloring and activity book is for children coping with having a stem cell transplant and for their siblings and classmates, as well as for children with a parent undergoing a transplant.
- Why, Charlie Brown, Why? This video tells the tale of a classmate who is diagnosed with leukemia. Using Charles Schulz's lovable Peanuts characters, the video helps children understand what leukemia is, how it's treated, and how a child recovering from leukemia feels. When a classmate teases the girl because she has no hair, her friends rally around her and help the other children understand why his remarks were hurtful. Produced by Charles Schultz and United Media.
- Blood Cancer United Coloring For Kids™ mobile app: Allows children to express their creativity and offers activities to help them learn about blood cancer and its treatment.
To access more resources for children and young adults, click here.
For more information about The Trish Greene program, contact a Blood Cancer United Information Specialist.
Before her death from cancer in 1999, Trish Greene, Ph.D., was the senior vice president of Patient Services at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United). She was devoted to patient services for cancer patients and created the Back-to-School program. Her devotion to patients and their families will never be forgotten.