When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it affects the whole family.
Family is everything. No matter how you define it, no one can put a value on the love a family shares, or the strength that can be found within it.
Every day in Australia, three families hear the words, “Your child has cancer.”
For families facing childhood cancer, the days and months that follow can be daunting, unpredictable and overwhelming. A child needs as much stability, love and support as possible — but when a family is under enormous pressure, simply holding everything together can feel impossible.
That’s where Redkite comes in.
Redkite supports families who have a child aged 18 or under with cancer, providing emotional, financial, practical and mental health support. Their goal is simple but powerful: to make sure families don’t have to face childhood cancer alone.
Supporting the Whole Family
Childhood cancer affects far more than the child receiving treatment. Parents and carers may have to take time away from work, manage mounting household expenses, navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system and support siblings who are also trying to understand what is happening.
Redkite is there to help families through all of it — whenever and wherever they need support.
Three things to know about Redkite
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Every day, three children are diagnosed with cancer in Australia. Redkite is there to support their families from the moment they need it.
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Redkite provides critical support for the whole family. This includes emotional, financial, practical and mental health support, tailored to each family’s individual circumstances.
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Redkite’s vision is for every family to have the strength and support they need to take on the challenge of childhood cancer.
Kit’s Story
In August 2022, three-year-old Kit was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Living in the Newcastle region of NSW with his mum and dad, Hannah and Ben, and his nine-year-old sister Eden, Kit had developed high fevers, fatigue and sore legs. Ben took him to emergency, where doctors admitted him for urgent tests.
The diagnosis changed everything.
“It was terrible news. At the time I just remember crying, Hannah was crying. We had no idea how or why this happens. I think I remember saying, ‘I just want to have a beer with him when he is 18 years old,’” Ben recalls.
Kit began intense frontline chemotherapy almost immediately.
“They try and hit the cancer cells really hard and fast with a whole different combination of chemo, IV chemo, oral chemo, steroids… a whole mixture of stuff,” Hannah explains.
The physical toll was severe. Kit stopped walking for two months and eventually faced another 18 months of maintenance treatment at home.
For Hannah, Ben, Eden and Kit, life became centred around treatment, appointments and simply getting through each day.
How Redkite Supported Kit and His Family
The family received immediate support in hospital through a Redkite Red Bag, followed by financial assistance and Coles vouchers to help with essentials including car registration, bills and groceries.
For a family suddenly managing life on a single income, this practical support made a meaningful difference.
“The Coles vouchers were honestly sometimes a godsend. Basically, we were a single-income family, so with cost of living, we just had to deal with a little bit more on top of that,” Ben says.
But Redkite’s support went beyond financial assistance.
Ben also accessed Redkite’s JobAccelerator program, which helped him refresh his professional skills, as well as one-on-one counselling to process the emotional impact of Kit’s illness.
The end of treatment didn’t mean the end of the emotional journey.
“You get to the end of treatment and think that’s it. But it’s not. You think, well, this could come back at any time… The anxiety, the stress, and the depression that I got after that period was unexpected,” Ben says.
Through counselling, Ben was supported to work through those feelings and take steps forward.
“Counselling helped me try and push myself to not sit indoors, get outside and do some things.”
It’s a reminder that when a child has cancer, families need support not only during treatment, but throughout the many stages of the journey.
Life After Treatment
Kit finished treatment in October 2024.
Today, he is back at school and enjoying karate, while his big sister Eden is busy with choir, dance and swimming.
For Hannah and Ben, life looks different again, but the experience of childhood cancer will always be part of their family’s story.
Their story also shows just how important it is for families to have someone in their corner when they need it most.
Supporting Families This Christmas
This Christmas, Purebaby is proud to support Redkite and families like Kit’s through thier Christmas collection.
When you support our collection, you’re helping make a meaningful difference to children with cancer and the families beside them, providing practical help, emotional support and a reminder that they are not alone.
Because when a child has cancer, the whole family needs support.
And sometimes, knowing someone is there can make all the difference.
Thank you for supporting Purebaby’s Christmas Campaign this year and helping Redkite continue to support families facing childhood cancer.
