The NonProfit Podcast Network · The NonProfit Podcast Network

"Your Child Has Cancer": How Keaton's Child Cancer Alliance Softens Those Words.

·41 min·2 clips

Jessica says she was diagnosed with stage one invasive breast cancer in June 2025.

1. The NonProfit Podcast Network episode focuses on Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance and its work with children facing pediatric cancer in Northern California. 2. Host Jeff interviews Jessica Alonso, executive director of Keaton’s, whose 12-year path began in 2014 as a bilingual family navigator. 3. The episode asks what Keaton’s does for families after the words “your child has cancer” and how the organization stays present long after diagnosis. 4. Jessica says she moved to California from Florida as a military wife, prayed about her mission, and found the bilingual navigator role at Keaton’s. 5. She connects her work to losing a father figure to cancer at age 10 and to the story of Keaton Raphael, who died after a neuroblastoma diagnosis at age 4. 6. Jessica says Kyle and Robin Raphael founded the organization three weeks after Keaton’s passing so no family would have to navigate childhood cancer alone. 7. The organization serves children from birth to young adulthood who are treated at seven pediatric oncology centers. 8. Those centers include Kaiser Roseville, Sutter Sacramento, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, UCSF, Children’s Hospital Oakland, and Kaiser Oakland. 9. Jessica says Keaton’s also connects with Bay Area treatment sites because some Northern California families seek specialized care there. 10. She describes the Family Navigator Program as the heart of Keaton’s and says hospital social workers refer families directly into it. 11. A navigator helps with diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, bereavement, and practical needs like grants, gas cards, food cards, counseling, child therapy, and play therapy. 12. Jessica says Keaton’s currently has three family navigators, and each one can carry about 30 to 35 families at a time. 13. She says referrals are arriving at a pace of one child a day, which keeps capacity under pressure. 14. Jessica says many families stay with Keaton’s for years, including some in survivorship for more than a decade or 15 years. 15. She gives the example of Draven, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age 3 and is now a 16-year-old student and football player. 16. Jessica says Keaton’s partners with Bayside Church, Ronald McDonald House, Kiwanis Family House, and groups like Kids Helping Kids Sacramento and NSYNC Dance of Auburn. 17. She says the organization also works with St. Baldrick’s Foundation and the Westfield Galleria to raise money for pediatric cancer research, including support for UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. 18. Jessica describes the tone of the work as child-centered, faith-filled, and focused on making sure cancer is not invited to family joy experiences. 19. Listeners interested in pediatric cancer, family navigation, and nonprofit capacity work would likely connect with this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a general health-policy discussion without a personal family-story focus may skip it.

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