Sharing Her Experience as a ‘Cancer Mom’ to Help Other Families

Laura DeKraker Lang-Ree knew something was off with her then 3-year-old, Cecilia. For weeks, Cecilia had been lethargic and was growing increasingly pale. Laura never imagined that her daughter would be diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Cecilia was given an 85% chance of surviving ALL. Laura dove into research and quickly realized there was no book or road map for how to parent a child through cancer.

“Jan. 6, 1999—the day when Cecilia was diagnosed—is forever imprinted in my soul. The scariest part was the unknown,” she recalled.

Laura and her husband, Arne, uncovered tools, strategies, and insights for navigating the journey of childhood cancer as a family. That experience inspired her to put all she had learned into a book titled The Cancer Parent’s Handbook: What Your Oncologist Doesn’t Have Time to Tell You.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 15,000 children and teens are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Laura, like other parents, discovered quickly how unprepared she was for the emotional, logistical, and physical challenges of navigating her child’s cancer diagnosis.

“I focused only on the negative at the start and what I couldn’t change about the diagnosis,” she said. “Through conversations with other parents, I realized I needed to shift my focus from ‘what if’ to what I could control—like my own behavior, my reactions, and creating strategies to help our family live better with cancer. Knowing our medical team had the medical side covered, I could focus on being the best advocate for my child while also caring for my family—keeping routines, managing stress, and finding moments of connection. I want The Cancer Parent’s Handbook to empower parents with a clear path from day one to survivorship.”

The book includes lessons like these:

The importance of advocacy and communication.

Managing your own mental and emotional health and how to find hope in the darkest times.

How family and friends can provide meaningful and practical support.

To write this book, Laura went back to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, where her daughter had been treated, and worked with the care team at the Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases. Her first stop was to speak with Gary Dahl, MD, pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and Cecilia’s doctor.

Cecilia with Dr. Gary Dahl at a check-up

“While there has been a dramatic rise in long-term survivorship from childhood cancers, the paralyzing terror of the initial diagnosis to the lengthy treatment protocol that Laura and her family experienced remains much the same. It’s an honor to be a part of Laura’s dream to help other families navigate similar challenges,” Dr. Dahl said.

She also sought insight from Stephanie Smith, MD, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Stanford Children’s, and Pamela Simon, MSN, CPNP, CPON, director of the Stanford Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program.

“It’s a full-circle moment to be working with the people who were in the trenches with you and saved your child’s life,” Laura said.

Today, Cecilia is thriving. After finishing her undergraduate and graduate studies at Stanford University, she is now a behavioral scientist working in the health tech space. She is an example of hope.

“By sharing practical tips and insights from parents, doctors, and nurses, and weaving in parts of our own journey with childhood cancer, I hope we can help families feel less alone, stay grounded, and confidently partner with their medical teams to fight for their child’s life,” Laura said.

Laura and Cecilia shopping for wedding dresses

The Lang-Ree family on vacation