What Kids Really Need to Cope with a Parent’s Cancer

Parenting Through Cancer Webinar Series 

What Kids Really Need to Cope with a Parent’s Cancer

Register here

Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 from 1pm – 2pm ET

We know parents with cancer worry about how to best support their kids: How do I talk with them? What questions do they have? How do I help them with big feelings? How do I prepare them for surgery and treatment? How do I NOT completely ruin their lives?! With nearly 20 years of experience guiding parents through cancer, Director of Programs Carissa Hodgson will get to the heart of what your kids need from you to not only get through this, but potentially thrive. Learn about the 3 pillars of what all kids need and how to focus your limited energy where it matters most.

Carissa Hodgson, LCSW, OSW-C is the Director of Programs and Community Outreach at Bright Spot Network, which provides a program of support to parents with cancer who have young children. She has nearly 20 years of clinical and program experience working with families facing cancer. Her professional passion is supporting parents, teens and children who are navigating cancer, shaped largely by her father having lung cancer when she was a child and her step-father’s diagnosis of liver cancer when she was a young adult.

Carissa has been a member of the Association of Oncology Social Work since 2015 and presently sits as co-chair of the Youth, Families and Cancer Special Interest Group. In addition to her position at Bright Spot Network she has a small psychotherapy practice and is a Long Term Lecturer at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at UW Madison.