Journal of Child and Family Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01394-9 ORIGINAL PAPER How Parents of Childhood Cancer Survivors Perceive Support From Their Extended Families Lauren Kelada 1,2 ● Claire E. Wakefield 1,2 ● Lauren Carlson 1,2 ● Kate Hetherington 1,2 ● Brittany C. McGill 1,2 ● Maria C. McCarthy 3,4 ● Gordon Miles 5 ● Richard J. Cohn 1,2 ● Ursula M. Sansom-Daly 1,2 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Objectives Childhood cancer has a profound impact on parents and family relationships. After their child’s diagnosis, parents commonly require support from their extended family members including their own parents and siblings. Limited research has assessed how parents draw upon their extended families for support after diagnosis. Importantly, support–or lack of support–offered by extended family members may change family relationships. We aimed to assess how parents, after their child’s diagnosis: perceive the support they received from their extended family; and describe changes to relationships with extended family members. Methods We interviewed 35 parents of childhood cancer survivors (n = 32 female, 91.4%). On average, children had successfully completed their cancer treatment 1.52 years (SD = 1.23 years) prior to their parents’ participation in our study (range = 0.17–6.33 years). Results Thematic analysis of the data revealed five themes: extended family members as sources of support; hurt, anger and resentment; empathy for extended family members; insulating the nuclear family; and relationships after treatment. Extended family members can provide valuable support to parents of a child with cancer. At the same time, families can be a source of anger and frustration for parents, potentially damaging relationships into the future. Conclusions Parents and their extended family members may have different ideas or expectations regarding the kind of support which is helpful during a child’s cancer treatment. Interventions and resources which educate extended family members may assist in bridging the gap between the support parents need, and what they receive, when their child is diagnosed with cancer. Keywords Childhood cancer ● Parents ● Family relationships ● Grandparents ● Siblings ● Support Worldwide, approximately 163,000 children aged 0 to 19 years are diagnosed with cancer every year (American Cancer Society 2015). Childhood cancer affects each family member individually and family dynamics as a whole (Kelada et al. 2018; Long and Marsland 2011; Wakefield et al. 2014). Parents experience profound distress when their child is diagnosed with cancer (Lindahl Norberg and Boman 2008; Sultan et al. 2016). Parents also report changed familial roles within the nuclear family: one parent (often mothers) may take on the role of primary caregiver to the sick child, to the detriment of other roles they may have previously undertaken such as spouse and provider, while the other parent (often fathers) may take on the role of sole provider as well as increased caregiving responsibilities for the siblings of the child with cancer and increased partici- pation in housework (Clarke et al. 2009; Da Silva et al. 2010; Silva-Rodrigues et al. 2016). Parents also report increased family and marital conflict after their child’s diagnosis (Da Silva et al. 2010; Morris et al. 1997; * Lauren Kelada l.kelada@unsw.edu.au 1 School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2031, Australia 2 Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia 3 Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia 4 Children’s Cancer Centre, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia 5 Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Perth Children’s Hospital, Perth, WA 6008, Australia 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: