The Lonon Foundation is supporting children through a parent’s cancer journey

Making sure children don’t have to face a parent’s cancer diagnosis or death without support

When a parent is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family is affected. But in the middle of appointments, treatments and difficult conversations, children can become the invisible patients.

The Lonon Foundation was created to change that.

Founder Anna Lonon knows firsthand what families need. After her husband, Michael, died from cancer at age 32, Anna was left raising their four-year-old son and three-month-old daughter while trying to find resources to help them understand and cope with what had happened. She quickly discovered that while cancer centers focused on treating the patient, there were few services dedicated to helping their children.

What began as one mother’s search for help became a mission to make sure no child has to navigate a parent’s cancer diagnosis or death without support.

Today, The Lonon Foundation, a South Carolina nonprofit organization focused on mental health, supports children from birth through age 17 whose parent or primary caregiver has been diagnosed with cancer or has died from cancer. The organization also gives parents and caregivers the tools they need to support their children.

Through Certified Child Life Specialist services, therapeutic programming and age-appropriate resources, The Lonon Foundation helps children understand what is happening, develop healthy coping skills and find space to process the emotions that come with cancer.

The importance of that support is recognized by healthcare and mental health professionals who work with families affected by cancer.

“As someone who has spent many years working alongside patients and families affected by cancer, I believe this type of psychosocial support is an essential part of comprehensive cancer care. Medical treatment addresses the disease, but organizations like The Lonon Foundation help care for the emotional well-being of the entire family. Their work provides comfort, connection, resilience, and a sense of normalcy during an extraordinarily difficult time,” said Maureen A. Melody, MBA, Vice-President & Chief Executive Officer, Charleston Oncology.

The organization works alongside hospitals, oncology practices, hospices, schools and community organizations across South Carolina, helping families access support from diagnosis through treatment, survivorship or grief.

For mental health professionals who work directly with children, the need for these resources is clear.

“As a licensed therapist specializing in youth, I have long been aware of the impact of cancer on the entire family. When a parent or caregiver experiences cancer – the kids feel it too. There’s endless uncertainty, changes to routines, people look and act differently – and this causes stress on the children…Giving kids these resources is invaluable in prevention and healing from the trauma associated with watching someone they love experience Cancer. I am proud to be able to share their resources and services with the families I work with in my practice, as well as families I encounter in my personal life,” said Mikayla Harper, MA, LPC, CAS, Mindful Island Counseling, Owner and Therapist.

That support is reaching hundreds of families. Since launching its Family Resource Kit program in 2023, The Lonon Foundation has distributed more than 800 kits through healthcare and community partners, including more than 250 this year. Its monthly UPLIFT Program and individualized Certified Child Life Specialist services now support more than 75 families each month.

For families, the impact goes beyond those numbers.

As one parent shared, “I can’t fix this or protect my children from the pain and sadness they are experiencing… but what a relief to have an outlet where my child can escape for a bit and laugh.”

The Lonon Foundation has learned that some of the greatest unmet needs are the ones people are not asking about. By listening to families and working alongside healthcare providers, educators and community organizations, the foundation is helping make children’s emotional well-being part of the cancer care conversation.

This is how The Lonon Foundation gets it done for South Carolina. By making sure children are seen, supported and given the tools to cope, The Lonon Foundation is helping families find connection and hope during one of life’s most difficult experiences.