Nanny Angel Network – by Kathleen Hoffman

For sometime I have been part of this international community on Facebook called ‘Colon Cancer Awareness’. They share many articles of the topic that are not only informative but also inspiring. One of the posts was on an NGO called  Nanny Angle Networks. Since 2008, NAN has supported families, in Canada, by providing free, professional relief childcare to mother during their cancer journey. In 2013, NAN expanded services to include bereavement care for children who have lost their mothers to cancer.

I wanted to share this article on my blog because we often treat cancer patients either with pity & panic or just shun them because they are from the lower income group (as mentioned in my earlier post called  ‘Childhood Cancer-lets show them our hearts’). Support and care very important for any cancer patient. I hope this article inspires all of us to change our attitude towards dealing with cancer and cancer conquerors. 

The article is written by Kathleen Hoffman

Nanny Angel Networks Provides Free Child Care for Cancer Patients – by Kathleen Hoffman

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama

In 2008, Audrey Guth, mother and president of Diamond Personnel, a nanny placement agency in Toronto Canada, arrived at the hospital for breast cancer chemotherapy. She saw mother receiving chemotherapy infusions holding “really young children … on their laps”

Growing up fast

Memories neglected for years came rushing back. When Audrey was 9, she “sat for hours, unsupervised in a waiting room surrounded by … cancer patients …” She accompanied her 34 year old father to Solan Kettering Hospital where he received treatment for renal cancer. “I remember tubes, bald heads, emaciated bodies … scary and haunting place to take a young child, but … my mother had no choice. She had three even younger to look after at home … So for …3years, I was my father’s only companion during his treatment … and I had to grow up very, very fast.

Childcare and Cancer Treatment

Years later, these memories moved her to examine childcare and chemotherapy. She found that little had changed since her girlhood. Few hospitals or healthcare centers provided childcare. Since childcare was too expensive for families dealing with medical bills, some moms even missed cancer treatments and appointments. “These women couldn’t dream of having nannies and yet, they were the ones that needed them the most,” she said in a 2014 CNN Hero interview.

An Award Winning Idea: Nanny Angel Network

With her expertise in nanny placement, Audrey set out to make a difference. She started Nanny Angel Network (NAN) that same year. Since 2010, NAN has provided 5,568 hours of services and 1,392 visits to 377 children.

Although this a volunteer organization, these are no ordinary volunteers. She’s assembled volunteers who are teachers, nannies, nurses, and elderly childhood educators. Many are cancer survivors.

When Audrey was 12, her father died. “At that time no one talked to children about cancer. We were left alone with our grief and … those frightening recollections of hospitals and illness  found a permanent hiding place in my mind.” For this reason, Nanny Angels receive specialized training in understanding bereavement and grief. “These children dealing with loss. The loss of a healthy mother,” Ashley Ashbee, NAN’s social media manager explained. The training also includes basics about cancer treatment and recovery and about psychological and emotional toll that cancer has on families.

Nanny Angel Network provides free childcare for cancer patients

Providing families in crisis sensitivity, respect and understanding is what NAN is all about. The service is free to patients in treatment and available to those who are in need of relief for palliative care or bereavement. Nannies come to the house in pink uniforms with big green ‘Mary Poppins’ bags filled with activities and fun.

As Audrey stated in her CNN Hero interview,  “Mothers who are diagnosed with cancer are the caregivers who suddenly themselves in need of care … Our program allows mothers the freedom to take rest because that’s what they need most to get better. What we won’t take away their illness but it will certainly make their journey a lot easier.”

Contact details of NAN 
Website - http://nannyangelnetwork.com/

Head Office:
Nanny Angel Network
1000, Sheppard Avenue, West Suit 100,
Toronto, Ontario M3H 2T6

Audrey Guth
Founder, Executive Director
a.guth@nannyangelnetwork.com

About the writer Kathleen Hoffman

Kathleen Hoffman, PhD, is a communication professional and writer providing social media guidance to physicians and other professionals. As a professional writer and communicator of nearly 2 decade, Kathleen is a leader in the movement of healthcare empowerment for both the patient and the provider. Through her innovative and personal interactions with healthcare consumers and providers, she focuses on the human side of healthcare. Her social media presence includes Medivizor blog, which focuses on chronic conditions that patients experiences; the Health Communication, Health Literacy and Social Sciences tweetchat on Twitter (#HCHLITSS); healthcare practice communities on LinkedIn; and healthcare focus sites and pages on Stumble Upon, Tumblr, G+ and Facebook. 

Website - http://kdhealthcomm.wordpress.com/