Cancer is traumatic for everyone, but it can be especially difficult for moms with young families. Without a strong support network and healthy coping skills, many families find themselves dealing with a lifetime of issues.

That’s where the Nanny Angel Network comes in. Our Nanny Angels are fully vetted, caring and trained volunteers who support the children throughout their parent’s cancer journey. For four hours a week, our Nanny Angels provide support by helping to maintain normal household routines, teaching children coping tools, modelling healthy emotional regulation and giving parents time to practice self-care. Moms are comforted knowing their kids are in safe, caring hands, which helps reduce stress so that they can focus on their own well-being.

Free, specialized childcare for moms with cancer. Helping moms, by supporting her kids.

The Nanny Angel Network is a registered charity and the only organization of its kind in Canada. There are three main goals that drive everything we do:

1. Provide specialized, Child Life-informed childcare for mothers with cancer to give her the time she needs to take care of herself and reduce existing social support burn-out
2. Build resiliency in children by teaching life-long coping skills
3. Provide a sense of normalcy for children during a tumultuous time in their lives.

We support families at any point during the cancer journey. We’re there from the time of diagnosis, during treatment or through palliative care. We continue to support families who need help during the bereavement period for up to a year.

NAN has provided care for over a decade – and we’re backed by 30 years of nanny agency experience.

Help that goes beyond childcare

Talking about cancer with your kids is hard. The Nanny Angel Network Program for Children is specially designed, to help children cope with the fear and anxiety that may come with their mother’s illness. Supervised by our Certified Child Life Specialist our team is here to help answer kids’ questions and give kids the coping skills that will help them become stronger, more resilient adults. Every month each child will engage in a volunteer facilitated coping activity created by our Certified Child Life Specialist. Families also receive psychosocial support from our Certified Child Life Specialist to optimize and enhance their ability to respond to stress.