We create space for connection, joy, and healing at regional Rb Family Days.
Amidst the tumult of treatment, the stress of surveillance care, and the lifelong impacts, friendship with others who understand the journey can be life-changing.
WE C Hope Family Days bring together children, survivors, and their loved ones from across the USA in a warm, caring gathering. Through these regional events, our extended Rb family finds encouragement, community, and hope that lasts far beyond the day itself.
The Challenge
Retinoblastoma is rare. Families and survivors are scattered across the country, and most have never met another person affected by Rb outside the hospital. With only a small number of specialist treatment centers, families often travel long distances for care. That journey is isolating — emotionally, practically, and socially.
Without peer support, families and survivors can feel profoundly alone. They may struggle with difficult medical decisions, long-term uncertainty, and fears for the future. Survivors may feel invisible in their experience. Siblings and extended family may feel confused or excluded. And without connection to others who truly understand, even the strongest families can begin to unravel under the strain.
A disconnected community also weakens advocacy. When families don’t know one another, they can’t collaborate to raise awareness, influence policy, or share resources that improve care. In isolation, it’s harder to speak up, and even harder to be heard.
Our Solution
WE C Hope USA hosts regional Rb Family Days and Weekends across the country, uniting patients, survivors of all ages, and their families for shared support and understanding.
- One-day events offer joyful activities, a shared meal, and informal time to connect deeply with others who understand the daily Rb journey. They are more likely to be held annually in the region.
- Family Weekends offer three days of structured programing and free time together. We hold weekends in regions where community events are new or less frequent. The extended gatherings give guests more opportunity to relax, build deeper friendships, and recharge.
We believe that when childhood cancer strikes, “family” extends far beyond biology. Family Days welcome the entire retinoblastoma community:
- Children in active treatment.
- Survivors of all ages.
- Parents, siblings, partners, and grandparents.
- The family’s dedicated caregivers, friends, and advocates.
Each event includes delicious shared meals, unique memory-making activities for all ages, personal storytelling, and inspiring guest speakers. But it’s the casual, heartfelt conversations that leave the deepest impact.
Family Days empower families to:
- Build deep, life-changing friendships.
- Share coping strategies and encouragement.
- Learn from one another’s lived experience.
- Celebrate joys, navigate challenges, and hold space for grief.
- Feel seen, supported, and inspired.
Connecting our community strengthens personal wellbeing, boosts confidence in care decisions, and helps everyone feel less alone.
Our events are also a catalyst for advocacy. As families and survivors connect, they grow a louder, more united voice. A network of support becomes a platform for local and national action – to raise awareness, improve care, and bring more hope to our community and others.
Together, we are stronger. Every Family Day is a celebration of resilience, belonging, and hope. Whether guests are joining for the first time or the fifth, they are all welcome, exactly as they are, into this growing circle of care.
We created an environment where our experiences were shared, valued, and understood. We laughed! We ate and played! And we gave value to each unique journey that has been walked. To me, that was A Day Well Spent.
Being able to connect with the faces that I met on Facebook and hug it out in person feels amazing… I love the fact that you go to different cities, and we can get immersed into the city we are in.
