Remembrance Breakfast held for Cancer and Hematology Centers families

On February 2, Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers held its annual Remembrance Breakfast for families of patients who have lost their battles with cancer or blood disorders during the past three years.

About 170 members of almost 30 families attended the two-hour event held in the butterfly-decorated conference rooms on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women.

Dr. Stacey Berg, director of the Cancer and Hematology Centers Palliative Care Program, kicked off the breakfast with a few words of encouragement and comfort. Family members then watched a personalized slide show of their lost loved ones.

Care givers provided words of remembrance and the Purple Songs Can Fly team members played songs the patients had either written or sung before they passed. Childcare, breakfast and a small gift that included a butterfly bead from the Beads of Courage Program, were provided to all family members.

“This event helps families know there children have not been forgotten,” said Arlene Brown, a social worker with the Cancer and Hematology Centers who, along with members of a system wide committee, help organize the remembrance breakfast. “It also provides them with a sense of connectedness to other families who are going through the grief process.”