Pediatric Cancer Care During the Holidays
Written By: Diya Sriramagiri
December is framed as a season of rest, celebration, and slowing down. But for children with cancer, care is not seasonal. Chemotherapy schedules don’t adjust for holidays. Follow-up scans don’t wait for the new year. And symptoms don’t care if clinics are short-staffed or offices are closed. Yet during December, families often face longer delays, reduced access, and increased financial strain, all while being told this is a time of joy.
During the end of the year, many specialty clinics operate on limited hours, and non-emergency services are delayed. For pediatric cancer patients, especially those in rural areas or those who rely on traveling to major treatment centers, this can mean postponed appointments, rescheduled infusions, or delayed diagnostic imaging. For families already driving hours for care, even a single cancellation can push treatment back by weeks. These delays aren’t just inconvenient: they can impact outcomes.
December also brings winter storms, dangerous driving conditions, and flight cancellations. For families who rely on Medicaid-covered travel assistance or out-of-county referrals, these barriers stack fast. Travel reimbursements may take longer to process, and lodging availability shrinks during the holidays, leaving families scrambling. What looks like a “minor delay” on paper becomes a cascade of missed care in real life.
The holidays are expensive; food, heating, gifts, transportation, and pediatric cancer adds an entirely different financial weight. Parents often reduce work hours or stop working entirely to care for their child. December amplifies this pressure, especially for families already living paycheck to paycheck. For low-income families, cancer doesn’t just steal time, it steals stability.
While families are trying to survive December, policy decisions continue quietly. End-of-year budget negotiations, Medicaid renewal changes, and coverage reviews often happen with little public attention. These decisions shape what care families will— or won’t— be able to access in the new year. The problem isn’t just that families struggle during December. It’s that the system is designed without accounting for when vulnerability is highest.
December exposes a truth we can’t ignore: pediatric cancer care is fragile. It depends on transportation, staffing, coverage, and timing, factors that break down most when families need them most. If a system only works when conditions are perfect, it doesn’t work at all.
As the year closes, Project 46 is using this moment to ask a simple question:
What would pediatric cancer care look like if policy were built around real life, not ideal conditions? In the coming months, we’ll continue tracking policies that affect access, travel support, and Medicaid protections. Cancer doesn’t pause for the holidays, and neither should advocacy.
Works Cited
Pediatric Cancer Care During the HolidaysAct, Chance. “KIDS v CANCER.” KIDS v CANCER, 2025, kidsvcancer.org/gkac-summary. for, Secretary. “HHS Doubles AI-Backed Childhood Cancer Research Funding.” HHS.gov, 30 Sept. 2025, www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-doubles-ai-backed-childhood-cancer-research-funding.htm
