Support for Siblings of St. Jude Patients

When your child or teenager has a serious illness, it affects the whole family. This includes the patient’s siblings (brothers and sisters). Helping siblings is an important part of family-centered care at St. Jude.

Siblings of a St. Jude patient can face many challenges. These include long separations from the patient or a parent, visits to an unfamiliar hospital, and changes in routines. The St. Jude child life specialists are here to help siblings cope with these challenges.

Child life specialists can help siblings:

• Learn about the patient’s illness and treatment;
• Prepare for medical procedures that the patient might have or that siblings might have to help the patient (for example, donating bone marrow to the patient) ;
• Tour the hospital;
• Get to know other children their age;
• Stay in touch with their brother or sister in the hospital;
• Cope with feelings; and
• Feel like they are still an important part of the family.

More information for parents and caregivers of siblings of St. Jude patients:

• Common sibling reactions to having a sick brother or sister,
• How to include siblings in what goes on at the hospital,
• Books for helping siblings, and
• Events for siblings at St. Jude.