According to a recent study, regardless of social and economic status, having a child with cancer is often tied to income reductions for parents and job discontinuation for mothers. Researchers studied over 3,000 parents of nearly 2,000 children diagnosed with cancer, and compared those parents to nearly 35,000 parents from the general population. 

A child's cancer diagnosis is a source of parental distress and can alter the life situation for the family and can inhibit the ability for the family's normal activities and routines to continue. The ultimate priority is the child, and thus parents often need to take time away from work or give up paid work in order to care for their child. The study also found that having a child diagnosed at a younger age had a bigger impact on the income, with the most adverse effects in fathers of children diagnosed under five and mothers of children diagnosed under age nine.

According to one of the lead authors of the study, "parents should be able to stay at home with the child, without risking substantial consequences on their income and work."

For more on the results of the study, click here.