Children of breast cancer patients find support through Pink Buddies group

PHOTO: Pink Buddies, a support group for kids and teens with parents battling breast cancer, met in-person last November.

By Grace Kishiyama,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Junior Ha-Khanh Pham sits among other kids whose parents are breast cancer patients or survivors. Painting rocks, each kid finds comfort in being with others who are going through or have gone through a similar experience. 

Pink Buddies is a peer mentoring group for kids and teens who have a parent going through breast cancer treatment.

The group is run by the local nonprofit organization Thriving Pink, which offers support to individuals in Yolo County impacted by breast cancer as well as teens who have had a parent go through treatment.

Pham created the group in 2020 after her mom went through breast cancer treatment, which was a “new and scary” experience for everyone in the family.

“Personally, while my mom was going through treatment I felt pretty isolated and didn’t really know anyone else who was going through a similar experience,” Pham said.

While her mom went through treatment, Pham saw the Thriving Pink community provide connections and support to her mom.

“I looked for volunteering opportunities with [Thriving Pink] because I wanted to give back and I was presented with the idea of creating a peer mentorship program for kids similar to one they have for survivors and breast cancer patients,” Pham said. “[The vice president of the Thriving Pink board] brought up the idea of creating a group for kids to me and I took over from there.”

At their first meeting, the group participated in many activities including crafts, games and fun conversation during their walk together in November.   

So far, the group has only been able to meet once due to the high number in COVID-19 cases and stay at home orders. 

Joni Rubin, vice president of the board for Thriving Pink and a breast cancer patient, and her family have also been impacted by breast cancer.

“Our lives were upended,” Rubin said. “I went from being actively involved in all of my daughter’s activities to being completely absent.”

Similar to Pham, Rubin’s daughter did not know anyone her age going through a similar experience.

“She rarely talked about what was happening with her friends and she carried the burden and fear associated with my cancer alone,” Rubin said.

However, Pink Buddies brings a new hope for Rubin.

“My hope is that other kids won’t have that same type of experience because of Pink Buddies,” Rubin said.

For kids that are unsure if they want to join, Rubin says to give the group a shot. Kids with parents battling cancer can benefit from being able to connect with peers who have had the same experience.

“[The teens in charge] get the desire not to talk about cancer all the time, so [they] make sure to have fun activities planned as [so everyone can] get to know one another,” Rubin said.   

Furthermore, all events are COVID-19 safe, whether they’re on Zoom or are in-person and socially-distanced with masks. Pink Buddies is very sensitive to the health and safety concerns of the breast cancer community.

Senior Claudia Peri attended the group’s November activity last fall and had a positive experience. 

“We have a lot of fun bonding, and since we already know we have at least one thing in common it’s so easy to start up conversations and have everyone involved,” Peri said.

For any questions about Pink Buddies, email the group at thrivingpinkbuddies@gmail.com or visit the group’s Instagram @pinkbuddiesyolo.