Cherry Blossom Families

Our Cherry Blossom Outreach Service

This is our childhood cancer bereavement outreach effort


When a child is diagnosed with cancer, everything changes.  When a child passes away from cancer, it feels like time stands still for the family around them.  Our children who have passed away from cancer are like Cherry Blossom petals. 


Our Cherry Blossom Outreach Service is a support line that reaches out to the parents and siblings of children who have passed away from a brain tumour or other type of cancer. 


To achieve this, we work with other local Voluntary, Health, Social, Community and Enterprise sector partners, to improve standards of care no matter the outcomes.  We do this to raise awareness of the holistic wellbeing challenges our bereaved families face and why it is important to raise funds to help them rebuild their lives. 

Testimonial

"Oh my goodness, it (the memory box) is gorgeous. Libi (age 6) has an inset day and we have just opened it together. We have decided that the box would be perfect for memories and drawings and words that remind us of neve. So we can write them down or draw them and then put them in the box. It’s really stunning. Something so powerful about seeing Neve’s name in print, not written by me. Thank you xxx!!"

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(ET - A Cherry Blossom Mum)

It is impossible to describe the emotional impact of a terminal cancer diagnosis in a child.  However, the feeling of emotional isolation starts at the point of diagnosis and remains largely unrecognised. 


Cherry Blossoms are Dannie's favourite flowers and always remind us of her.  They are small, delicate blushed flowers produced by Cherry Blossom trees. 


In April, Dannie's birth month, the springtime bloom of the pink Cherry Blossom, is such a lavish, yet remarkably brief spectacle.  After about two weeks, the Cherry Blossoms drop to the ground, wither and fall like snow with the ebb and flow of the winds. Truly breath-taking.


Also known as 'Sakura' in Japan, the meaning of the Cherry Blossom runs deep, making it the country’s national flower and a cultural icon revered around the world not just for its overwhelming beauty, but for its enduring expression of life, death and renewal.


This is why the Cherry Blossom is symbolic to us. There is hardly a more beautiful, comforting and enduring reminder of the transient burst of light and love that Dannie and children like Alex, Raquelmi, Amanjot, Ollie, Richard, Neve, Evie and Jacob are and will always be in the lives of those who know them. 


This mysterious flower helps us rethink the expression of life and death and reminds us to keep hope alive through it's springtime renewal. Through our Cherry Blossom bereavement support service, we hope to reach out and help our grieving families to rebuild again - one small step at a time.


Support Our Cherry Blossom Families

For many grieving parents/families close friends and family may start to make unfair distinctions or harbour incorrect perceptions that lead them to withdraw because they do not know what to say or do.  Parent and sibling carers may start to withdraw due to the pressure of care and learning to adjust to their circumstances.  This emotional discrimination can lead to emotional isolation. 


Testimonial

"Thank you for your kindness. Your support means so much to me. Some days when I feel tired and low, I receive a little card or some chocolate from you, it makes my day and helps me to feel stronger. I hope someone does the same for you!!"

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(OE - DLF Cherry Blossom Mum)

Our Fun Bike Ride Raises Funds for Our Cherry Blossom Families

Children with brain tumours or other cancers, are loved and cherished just like other children their age.  They love to play and learn with the loving families and friends who surround them daily.  When a child passes away or is diagnosed with terminal cancer, it matters even more. 


Terminal cancer is a difficult thing to think about and we find that some of the parents of our children struggle to come to terms with this terrible this reality, talk about advanced care plans or even process their emotions, ask for or receive help.


Every year, we host a fun bike ride and bring together people in our community.  There's always good music and food as we raise awareness of the difficult wellbeing challenges and demands faced by our families and encourage people to raise funds to help meet their wellbeing needs.  Our next ride will be on Saturday, 26th April 2025.  See you there.

If left unaddressed, this feeling of emotional isolation can lead to a toxic combination of low self-esteem, hostility, stress, pessimism and social anxiety - ultimately leading the isolated person to distance themselves further from others.


Offering holistic wellbeing support to bereaved parents/sibling carers

Grieving starts from the point the child is diagnosed with cancer.  The grief a parent feels when they are told their child has a brain tumour can feel acute and unprecedented.  Our families have told us that the shock of this devastating news is strong enough to transcend all logic and reasoning and temporarily numb the mind.


The siblings of our children who have passed away tell us that the type of grief that they feel, when they learn their sister/brother has a brain tumour is different and overwhelming.  Sometimes, siblings tend to withdraw and begin to display unusual behaviours as part of their coping mechanisms.


Every family we meet all share one thing in common, the feeling that the type of grief they experience whilst caring for their child through a brain tumour/cancer diagnosis is unprecedented. 


Sadly, the type of grief experienced when that child passes away, is strangely unparalleled to any other type of grief and quite simply feels unnatural.  Wellbeing support is required from the point of diagnosis.

Support Our Cherry Blossom Families

We nurture the wellbeing of the child's immediate family

- when it feels like time has stood still. 

Using AI to Preserve Memories

With each passing year, Dannie's family and friends are reminded that time does not stand still and life continues.


Our Cherry Blossom DLF Cherry Blossoms (thedaniellalogunfoundation.org) friends and parent carers know this too well. They also tell us how over time the memories of their children who have passed away from a brain tumour or other cancer feels distant and their photographs seem to stand still and fade over time. Many photos are lost, damaged, defaced and loose quality over time. Isn't this just added grief to and already difficult set of circumstances? 


We agree and have a solution that can help improve this. Thanks to the power of AI technology, our graphic artist Chris kindly created this image on the left, the first A1 rendering of Dannie, our inspiration Who We Are (thedaniellalogunfoundation.org). As our first Cherry Blossom child, this image is an expression to the world, of how AI can be used to create a refreshed vision of our beautiful Dannie. A positive contribution to a longer-lasting memory of a child lost to cancer. 

 

We have launched this AI project, with the aim of using AI technology to renew and re-capture the memory of our Cherry Blossom children, who have passed away from a brain tumour or other cancer. 


Donate to our DLF GoFundMe Campaign

Let's remember them.

Our Cherry Blossom Outreach service is as an expression of love and support to our bereaved parent and sibling carers, at a time when words cannot simply express their grief.  We offer friendship, peer support, counselling, memorial keepsake boxes, food boxes and other wellbeing gifts to support them through their changing circumstances.


To that parent who has lost a child to a brain tumour or or other cancer, we do not deny the indescribable pain or grief that comes with loosing a child through cancer.  However, we believe that there is hope to rebuild, find renewal and a renewed sense of purpose.


If you feel ready, we would like to help you find support. Hope is never lost.  Love never dies.  Be kind to yourself.


Make A Referral Now.

Testimonial.

"(3 red heart emojis) You have made me smile (smiley face emoji).  What a gorgeous delivery (of a colourful bouquet of flowers and chocolates) that have just arrived.  I feel very held.  Thank you (smiling starry eyed emoji)"


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ET (Bereaved mum - Oxford)

Donate to our DLF GoFundMe Campaign

"Why do we neglect to revel in life when it can end at any moment, or in the grace & beauty that surrounds us everywhere: in our family, friends, a stranger’s smile, a child’s laugh, in nature, in new flavours on our plate, in the scent of green grass, in a starry night or in the gentle breeze?"

(Unknown)

(2 Corinthians 1:4)

"He comforts and encouraged us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God"



"With the right level of support, family life can be rebuilt after a child has died from a brain tumour or cancer."

(DLF)

The fleeting beauty and lifespan of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms remain a timeless metaphor for human existence. 


We promote the holistic themes of mindfulness and living in the present to support our bereaved parent and sibling family carers.


Life is a gift and even after child loss through cancer, together we can help grieving parents and siblings rebuild their lives and rediscover purpose. 

   

Remember our Cherry Blossoms.

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