Stefano’s Stories: For kids facing cancer, every advance matters

September 2026

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of hearing from many families who have come through the doors of HSC Children’s Hospital. While every experience is different, their stories continue to remind me of the difference that care and research can make when a family is going through something they never expected.

For eight-year-old Abby and her family, it started with what they thought would be a straightforward trip to the hospital. Shortly after her eighth birthday, Abby’s parents brought her to HSC Children’s with swollen tonsils. Tests later revealed masses in her throat and abdomen, and Abby was diagnosed with stage three Burkitt lymphoma, a fast-growing form of cancer. She needed to begin chemotherapy right away.

For Abby’s parents, there was the cancer and the treatment their daughter needed but also concern about what spending months in hospital would mean for an eight-year-old.

“As we moved through the treatments, we learned that there are many other worries, like how the long hospital stay would affect her mentally and socially,” her dad, Steve, says.

Abby’s experience offers a glimpse into the many ways childhood cancer can affect a child and their family. During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September, stories like hers can help deepen our understanding of what that experience can involve.

Even when a child is facing something as serious as cancer, they still need opportunities to play, connect and experience the familiar parts of childhood. Throughout Abby’s treatment, her care team looked for ways to provide some of those moments, including opportunities to play and spend time in the playroom.

At HSC Children’s, Child Life specialists use play, preparation, distraction and other supports to help children and families cope with the hospital experience. For children spending days, weeks or even months away from home, these moments can bring a sense of familiarity to an experience that is anything but familiar.

The environment where children receive that care matters, too. Thanks to generous donors, the childhood cancer, blood disorders and transplants ward at HSC Children’s, known as CK5, is being revitalized to create a more welcoming environment for children who may spend long periods receiving care there.

Donor support is helping transform patient rooms, treatment areas and family spaces in CK5, with renovations and upgrades designed to bring more colour, comfort and care to children and families.

Alongside the care children receive during treatment, research is helping us better understand childhood cancers and how they can be treated. Here in Manitoba, the Pediatric Research in Oncology in Manitoba: Innovation, Science, Excellence (PROMISE) team at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba brings together experts from across pediatric cancer research and clinical care.

By working together and sharing what they learn, researchers can build on each other’s knowledge as they look for better ways to understand and treat childhood cancer.

“It means so much to us that research continues to find better and safer treatments with less adverse effects, meaning less trauma to children and their families and fewer stays in hospital, so kids can be at home with family and friends,” Steve says. “It’s a reminder that every advance in treatment can change the life of a child and their family.”

After months of treatment at HSC Children’s, Abby was able to return home. Today, she’s back to enjoying many of the things she loves, including 10-pin bowling, watching the Winnipeg Sea Bears and spending time with her older brothers, Caleb and Levi.

That’s what we hope to see for more children — less time in hospital and more time at home with their families, doing the things they love and just being kids.

This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, I’m thinking about Abby and the many children and families affected by cancer. Together, we can continue to support the care and research that can make a difference for kids and their families.

Read Abby’s full story and learn more about her experience at HSC Children’s Hospital. You can also learn more and donate to support kids facing cancer, blood disorders and transplants.