Children treated for cancer undergo an overwhelming number of medical procedures. Children can be faced with drug infusions, blood transfusions, surgery, bone marrow aspirates, lumbar punctures, finger pokes, and other invasive procedures. They often have to remain in the hospital for extended stays and sometimes travel to other cities for treatment.

Candlelighters’ Hero Beads are designed to let children with cancer commemorate their personal cancer journey. Every time that a child has a procedure—whether a chemotherapy infusion, radiation therapy, a bone marrow aspirate, a blood transfusion or other procedures, their parent or a member from their medical team can provide them with a special bead to add to their ‘courage bead necklace.’ Each bead represents a specific treatment that the child received. For example, a red heart bead represents a blood transfusion.

Candlelighters’ Hero Beads provide a symbol of each child’s unique cancer journey—a symbol that demonstrates the child’s strength and accomplishments. Wearing the necklace can help their friends, school mates and extended family members to better understand what the child has been going through. Parents might also want to wear the courage bead necklace to work as a means to visually share their child’s cancer journey in a meaningful way with their colleagues. Beads may be purchased individually by families or in bulk by hospitals and Candlelighters’ Affiliated groups using our website store. Prices will vary according to quantity ordered and will include shipping and handling. We encourage you to watch our website for the announcement of this exciting national program!