Charity brings ‘amazing’ holiday season support for Calgary families dealing with childhood cancer

There’s a real-life Christmas angel brightening the spirits of some Calgary families currently dealing with some very tough challenges.

Carie Stock runs Helping Families Handle Cancer, a charity organization that supports families of children being treated for cancer.

Stock provides gifts cards for things like food and gas, as well as covering costs like rent and utility bills.

Stock says that year-round help is important for parents who face financial challenges as they take time off work while a child is undergoing treatment.

“It adds a lot of stress and we don’t want them to be worried about that,” Stock said. “We want them to be there for their child.”

Stock know first-hand how much stress the situation can bring for families.

“I’m a childhood cancer survivor – when I was 13 months old I was diagnosed with a rare cancer,” Stock said. “I was very, very, very sick and they thought I was going to die.

“I got through that and went through years of chemo and surgeries.”

One of the people Stock has been supporting recently is Claire Masikewich, whose six-year-old daughter Sloane has been receiving treatment at the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH).

“She was diagnosed at the end of May this year with stage four neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nerve cells,” Masikewich said. “We just went through our first round of high-dose chemo and a stem cell transplant, so it’s all going really well, but then we still have a long road ahead.”

Stock has been providing Masikewich with passes to cover the cost of monthly parking at the ACH.

“I am inspired all the time by people who have gone through this,” Masikewich told Stock. “You’re doing such a great job.”

Helping Families Handle Cancer has provided support for more than 2,000 families over the past 15 years, with December usually being the busiest month.

“The holidays are the hardest, because you have the expenses of Christmas,” Stock said. “We want to make the journey a little easier.”

Stock provides her help through social workers at the ACH, who evaluate potential recipients and then distribute gift cards and other supports.

“This is such an important program and it provides such meaningful support to our families,” ACH social worker Breanna Kehler said. “It’s so amazing that she’s giving back in this way and supporting families through something she experienced as well.”