What happens when your best friend’s child is diagnosed with cancer? How do you show up for someone you love when you can't fix the very thing that's breaking their heart?

In this episode of The Deep C, I sit down with Chelsea Wetherup, whose best friend, Claire Masikewich, was thrown into the world of childhood cancer when her daughter, Sloane, was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma in 2023.

Chelsea offers a perspective we don't often hear: what it's like to stand beside someone you love through the unimaginable. We talk about the instinct to protect, knowing when to listen and when to speak, the helplessness of watching your best friend suffer, and the kind of friendship where you can still find something completely inappropriate to laugh about in the middle of it all.

This conversation is a love letter to female friendship, to the women who know us better than almost anyone, and to the extraordinary gift of having someone who doesn't need to be told how to show up.

Learn more about Claire's Keynote speaking at https://www.clairemasikewich.com/

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What do our children discover about themselves when they go through cancer treatment?

On The Deep C, I usually talk to parents about the strength, hope and love we discover deep within ourselves when our child is diagnosed with cancer. But for this episode, I wanted to hear about that experience from our kids.

In a special collaboration with ACCESS (Advancing Childhood Cancer Experience, Science and Survivorship), I sat down with seven teenagers from across Canada who have all been diagnosed with cancer, some of whom are still in treatment.

Sully, Karina, Ollie, Izabella, Keaton, Noah and Sachan generously share their experiences, beginning with the moments they learned they had cancer. We talk about the fears they faced during treatment, how cancer affected their friendships and what it felt like to return to school. They also share what they wish adults understood about their capabilities and the advice they would give another young person facing a diagnosis.

What I found most enlightening was hearing about the strength they uncovered within themselves while their parents were discovering their own. Their stories offer an extraordinary perspective on what it means to grow up with cancer and how important it is that we listen to young people when they tell us what they need.

About ACCESS

ACCESS is a national, community-driven network working to advance childhood cancer research and care in Canada. By bringing people with lived experience together with researchers, healthcare providers and policymakers, ACCESS ensures that the voices of children and families help shape the future of childhood cancer care.

This episode is part of ACCESS Presents, a series of free public educational conversations, and was created in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

A special thank you to Sully, Karina, Ollie, Izabella, Keaton, Noah and Sachan for sharing their stories, and to Stephanie Reid and Renu

Jeyapala at ACCESS for bringing this idea to The Deep C and making these conversations possible.

https://www.accessforkidscancer.ca/

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What happens when the person who usually delivers the diagnosis suddenly becomes the parent receiving it?

In this powerful episode, Sam sits down with Dr. Raksha Hemanth Raheja, a pediatrician and cancer mom whose son Rian was diagnosed with leukemia and later relapsed. Raksha shares her unique perspective of experiencing childhood cancer from both sides of the hospital bed, as a physician caring for children and as a mother desperately trying to save her own.

Together, they explore the tension between medical knowledge and parental fear, the illusion of control, and the difficult reality that expertise doesn't protect you from the heartbreak of watching your child suffer.

Raksha speaks candidly about what surprised her most when she became a cancer parent, how her son's diagnosis changed the way she practices medicine, and why she now places even greater value on parental intuition.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that parents and clinicians aren't on opposing sides—they are teammates. Doctors bring medical expertise. Parents bring an intimate understanding of their child. The best care happens when both are heard.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What it was like to experience childhood cancer as both a pediatrician and a parent
• Whether medical knowledge makes a child's cancer diagnosis easier—or harder—to navigate
• The loss of control that comes with childhood cancer
• How to approach difficult conversations with your child's oncology team
• Why parents should feel empowered to ask questions, voice concerns, and trust their instincts
• The role of parent intuition in medical decision-making
• How Raksha's experience as a cancer mom transformed the way she practices medicine
• Why doctors and parents are ultimately working toward the same goal
• The importance of partnership, trust, and communication in pediatric cancer care

Whether you're newly diagnosed, deep in treatment, or years into survivorship, this episode offers valuable insight into the relationship between families and medical teams and reminds us that behind every white coat is a human being doing their very best to help a child heal. Because when it comes to caring for our kids, we're all on the same team.

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