Non-Discrimination Policy: Capital Candlelighters provides compassionate services to all children with cancer in our service area and to their families regardless of religious belief, racial or ethnic background, skin color, marital status, gender, sexual orientation or level of disability.
Peds Heme-Onc Hero Bead Program
Provided by Capital Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Alliance
at the American Family Children's Hospital
Hero Beads let kids and teens with cancer or blood disorders commemorate your personal treatment journey in the form of a simple, visible medical record. You will initially receive a cord with letter beads that spell out your first name, plus a Diagnosis bead and a bead representing the American Family Children’s Hospital. Every time you have a procedure or pass a particular milestone, a member of your medical team can give you a special bead to add to your cord of beads. Over time, Hero Beads provide a symbol of each patient’s personal journey, a touchable testament to strength and endurance.
Please talk to your nurse or Child Life specialist about the Hero Bead program. Patients who join the program in mid-treatment are welcome to obtain one or more cords and collect the beads they need to “catch up.” Patients who have already finished treatment or bereaved families may create a set by visiting the Capital Candlelighters office. Call 608-231-8006 to set up a time to come in.
Here’s the list of available beads, subject to change:
Procedure/experience Bead
Air Lift helicopter charm
Biopsy Complete orange-yellow-red striped sphere
Birthday on Treatment balloons charm
Blood Culture red-green striped glass cylinder
Blood Draw red metallic ball
Blood Transfusion red heart
Bone Marrow Aspiration brown and white swirled tube
Bone Marrow Transplant spiked rainbow ball
Cast white tube bead
Central Line surgically in / out ‘courage’ charm/smiley cube bead
Children’s Hospital bead white porcelain rectangle w/ red kids
Course of Chemo green wooden bead
CT Scan cat bead
Day Treatment decorated wood oval
Diagnosis gold childhood cancer ribbon
Echocardiogram purple wooden ball
End of Treatment boy or girl dangle charm
Finger Poke pony bead
Hair Loss smiling wood disc w/ bandanna
ICU/PICU green turtle
I.M. Injection green or pink wooden smiley bead
Inpatient Admission bear bead
IV Infusion multicolor glass flower bead
Lumbar Puncture light blue disc
MRI pastel sun bead
Nuclear Med Scan gold ball
Oral Med, new butterfly bead
PET Scan round pet bead
Platelet Transfusion gold disc w/ moon, heart, star
Port Access/ IV Placement red wooden star w/ yellow center
Radiation blue porcelain disc w/ yellow sunburst
Relapse ‘hope’ charm
Remission, No Evidence of Disease wooden smiley ball
Sedation pastel moon bead
Shunt insertion clear tube
Stem Cell Harvest spotted multicolor glass bead
Surgery blue star
Total Body Irradiation green glass star
TPN (IV nutrition) holstein print cylinder
Travel Long Distance to treatment red train bead
Tube Insertion (NG, G-tube, Chest tube) striped cube bead
Ultrasound blue and white spotted glass cylinder
X-Ray white bone bead
Wish Trip airplane
WOW Bead (special accomplishment) gold glass bead with black swirls, blue & white dots
Years Off Treatment (1, 2, 3, etc.) number beads
Safety Warning: To avoid possible choking or strangulation, beads should only be worn with adult supervision. Child should NOT wear beads in bed, while playing, on climbing equipment or while under sedation. Parents of children under age 4 should collect the beads on their child’s behalf and display the strand of beads on the wall or in another safe place.
Our mission is to educate, support, serve and
advocate for children with cancer,
their families, survivors of childhood cancer and the professionals who
care for them.
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If your child is currently on the inpatient unit at the American Family Children's Hospital,
email us:
info(at)capcan.org