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Having cancer is not easy. Being told that there is no cure and that you will die in the next six months is difficult. But being the father of an eleven and a seven year old and trying to help them cope can seem impossible. As an oncology clinical nurse specialist, when I have told parents that they have an incurable disease, one of their first concerns is their children. What should they do? Will their children remember them after they die? How can they help them? One successful strategy is to create ‘special memories'. Children and parents from ages 2 years through adulthood can create a special memory together. A simple, inexpensive and long-lasting shared memory is to make hand mold impressions out of clay. Even though an ill parent may delay and be too ill to participate, the shared memory may still be created with the help of the surviving parent and the child. In the event the parent dies before the mold is kiln fired, one of the healing initiatives can be to contact the surviving parent several weeks after the funeral to check on how they and the children are doing. Gently remind them about the mold and discuss the process of creating the mold and how decorating it could be part of the healing process for their children. One 7 year old keeps the hand mold by her bedside. Each night she rests her hand on the mold and tells her mother ‘daddy is holding my hand.'