Hope Binders Help Parents in the Battle Against Life-Threatening Diseases in Children

Being a parent of a sick child is emotionally and physically draining. Between school, doctor's appointments and treatments, you are thrown into a world where there is very little control and every decision can be critical to your child's wellbeing. A new innovative tool from the Childhood Leukemia Foundation called the "Hope Binder" helps parents manage the overwhelming amount of information related to their child's care. It includes worksheets and resources to help document treatment protocols, medicines, doctor's appointments, blood counts, physicians, hospitals, nutrition concerns, and insurance benefits - all the details that come with facing cancer. It even includes free telephone calling cards to reach doctors and other family members. A copy of the popular video game Re-Mission is also included in the binder. Rated T for teen, it is designed to give young cancer patients a sense of power and control over their disease. The 3D game is a 20 level journey through the bodies of fictional patients with different types of cancer. Players control a nanobot named Roxxi. The task? Blast cancer cells, battle bacterial infections, and manage realistic, life-threatening side effects. Offered at 160 hospitals nationwide, it is now making its way to even more families, free of charge, thanks to a $75,000 grant from health insurance company CIGNA to produce and distribute more than 2,000 of them. Produced for CIGNA Healthcare

Google Video | April 22, 2008