MY COMPANION - Support Kit
MY COMPANION is a set of booklets presented in a carefully designed carry case, created to support families of newly diagnosed children as they navigate the “cancer storm.”
The kit includes the following booklets:
- Cracking the Cancer Code, which explains cancer-related terminology and concepts in simple terms, helping parents better understand the language used by doctors and nurses during treatment. You can read it here.
- Getting Organised, which helps parents understand and manage the first administrative matters they will face. You can read it here.
- My Appointment Assistant, a a three-panel leaflet designed to sit on a parent’s lap during medical consultations. It includes an Ask-the-Doctor Checklist—covering key information parents should receive at each stage of treatment, along with suggested questions—as well as My Medical Journal, a notebook for parents’ own use. You can discover the question checklist here.
- How to Stand the Storm, developed based on patient consultations, which offers practical advice to support families day to day. It includes ideas such as making the hospital room more comfortable or handling awkward remarks from well-meaning relatives or friends. You can read it here.
The kit also includes practical items:
- A Treatment Tracker, allowing parents and their child to record daily mood, energy levels, and treatment side effects. It can be used to prepare medical appointments—supporting better management of side effects — and to help organise family life, such as planning activities on better days.
- My Medical Map, a filing tool to help parents organise the many administrative and medical documents they receive throughout their child’s treatment.
- Fun DIY activities for children (and young-at-heart parents).
MY COMPANION – Support Kit is available in English, Dutch, French, and Arabic, and is distributed in all accredited Belgian paediatric haemato-oncology units.