The Sunrise Association in Oceanside and Cohen Children’s Medical Center expanded a program designed to support parents and caregivers of childhood cancer survivors, bringing dozens of families together at Sunrise Day Camp—Long Island for the first joint “Closing the Umbrella: Caring for the Caregiver” symposium on May 3.
The free event welcomed more than 40 parents and caregivers for workshops, discussions and peer support sessions focused on the emotional and mental challenges families face after a child completes cancer treatment.
While the adults attended the symposium, more than 160 children participated in a companion Sunrise Sunday camp program filled with games, activities and social opportunities.
Dr. Carolyn Fein Levy, head of the Pediatric Solid Tumor Program at Cohen Children’s and a childhood cancer survivor herself, founded the program in 2024. The initiative was established in memory of her mother, Paula Fein, in collaboration with Survivors Facing Forward, the hospital’s long-term follow-up program for childhood cancer survivors, led by Dr. Lenat Joffe.
Fein Levy said families often lose a critical support network once active treatment ends and hospital visits become less frequent. She described the transition into survivorship as emotionally complicated for caregivers, many of whom spend months or years focused entirely on helping their child survive.
“It’s as though these caregivers have just run a marathon and stopped cold,” she said. “They’ve been in constant fight-or-flight mode. Once therapy stops, there’s finally time to process the trauma, but there aren’t many programs focused specifically on the caregivers. This program is about helping families process, reconnect and move forward together.”
According to Fein Levy, children returning to school after treatment often receive structured support through social workers, psychologists and child-life specialists, while parents are frequently left to process the trauma on their own.
“The child goes back to school and has a whole reentry process,” she explained. “But nobody actually helps the parents reenter their environment.”
The symposium aimed to address that gap by giving caregivers tools for their own wellness while also helping them navigate survivorship issues, including fear of relapse, emotional trauma and long-term effects of treatment.
“There’s no more normal,” Fein Levy said. “Your life becomes a new normal, and it’s hard to share that with people who haven’t experienced it.”
This year marked the first partnership between Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center and the Sunrise Association, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Oceanside that provides free camp programs, hospital activities and year-round services for children with cancer and their siblings.
Arnie Preminger, president and CEO of Sunrise Association, said the collaboration aligned closely with Sunrise’s mission of supporting the entire family.
“For 20 years, Sunrise has focused on bringing back the joys of childhood to children with cancer and their siblings,” Preminger said. “Closing the Umbrella is a natural extension of our mission, providing parents and caretakers tools and resources to navigate the post-treatment years.”
Founded in 2006, the Sunrise Association operates 14 full-summer day camps across the United States and Israel — serving about 2,600 campers annually — along with hospital-based and virtual programming. All services are offered free of charge.
Bonnie Flatow, Sunrise’s senior vice president for hospital and community services, noted that Sunrise differs from many traditional pediatric cancer camp programs because siblings are included in every aspect of its services.
“Sometimes the siblings are forgotten,” she said. “It can be a very fragile and uncertain time for families to go back into society. We have made it our mission to include siblings of children with cancer in every program we have.”
During the May 3 symposium, caregivers attended presentations, group discussions and peer-led sessions while children participated in recreational camp activities nearby, at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Wheatley Heights.
Fein Levy said creating a community among caregivers is one of the most important aspects of the program.
“There’s comfort in talking to people who truly understand your new normal,” she said. “Even if every family’s story is different, there’s a shared understanding that’s hard to find elsewhere.”
Flatow echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that “not only was it a learning experience, but it was another form of camaraderie that was established between parents going through the same journey.”
Attendance at this year’s symposium doubled from the inaugural event held at Cohen Children’s in 2024 and was sponsored by the Frances and Gertrude Levett Foundation in honor of Cooper Graham and his family.
Fein Levy said she hopes caregivers leave the experience feeling supported and empowered.
“I want parents to know they are not alone,” she said. “Every trauma changes who you are, but by connecting other families and reframing the experience, they can grow from it and help others.”
