Too many families hear the devastating words, “Your child has cancer," says Corinne Eiriksson.

The west Mountain mother has heard those words and knows how it makes worlds fall apart, just as it did for her family.

It's a tough time. And while the child receives treatment and has numerous avenues of support available, there is little there for the parents who are by their side every step of the way battling the disease.

But while it is not that well known, there is a support group, and it offers some comforting words.

"We're sorry you're here, but we are here," says Eiriksson, chair of the Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC).

Eiriksson is a bereaved parent of a child with cancer. Her son Jamshid passed away in 2016 after a four-year battle with neuroblastoma.

During the second year of her son's treatment, she realized the need for parents to connect to support each other. She found and joined OPACC, a registered charity, took the facilitator training and in 2014 started a support group in Hamilton. She is currently chair of the OPACC board.

"Initially, you don't expect that anyone knows what you are going through," says Eiriksson.

While family and friends are sympathetic and want to help, she says, you end up feeling alone. That's where OPACC and its peer support group comes in.

"When someone who is in my position says, 'I have been there, I do know that this really is the worst, this really is that hard' — when you know it comes from experience, it really makes a difference."

OPACC and the monthly meetings have helped many parents, she says.

To help even more, Eiriksson is currently raising money for a weekend retreat for moms to find some peace in the middle of a very challenging and overwhelming time. Parents of children with cancer suffer from everything from elevated stress levels and extreme anxiety to PTSD, she says. And parents can suffer for years even after their child successfully completes childhood cancer treatments.

"Remission and followup care is less of a relief than one might expect," she says.

To give, go to opacc.org/donate and select "OPACC Hamilton group parent retreat" where it asks which fund you wish to support.