Dragonfly Foundation

Why Is Emotional Care Important?

The emotional support Dragonfly provides to young cancer and bone marrow transplant patients and their families has lifted hearts and spirits, impacted medical outcomes, saved marriages, and even prevented suicides.

The work we do is invaluable to patients and families because:

  • It will take a long to find a cure for every cancer, until then young patients and their families need Dragonfly
  • People with cancer are more than 2.5 times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer, with the likelihood even greater in younger patients.
  • Treatment often causes emotional and physical trauma and can have long-term side effects on both the patient and the family.
  • Side effects can impact a patient’s body image and physical appearance, often making it challenging for the patient to appear in public and/or maintain their self-confidence
  • Cancer and bone marrow transplant patients and their families often experience isolation, fear, pain, anxiety and depression
  • A cancer diagnosis has a ripple effect that impacts everyone in the family