When YOUR Child Gets Diagnosed with Cancer

It's something you think will never happen to you. Not your family, not your child, but it can, and that diagnosis can be devastating.

So far in life, I have been fortunate enough to have healthy kids. I am so incredibly grateful for that; but I have received a devastating diagnosis and the moment you get that news you know life will never be quite the same.

Like parents who discover their kids have cancer, I suspected something was wrong with my child. With cancer it's a pain or a bruise that won't go away. Maybe you find a little lump that you think is probably nothing, but in your gut you know as a parent something is not right.

For me, my son stopped talking. He stopped connecting with me and the world. People told me he was just being stubborn or I was a paranoid "first time Mom," but as much as I wanted them to be right, I knew.

I remember sitting down with a doctor after he did a series of tests on my sweet 2 year old son and him telling me, "Your son has an Autism Spectrum Disorder." I didn't even know what that meant really. Would he ever talk, be in a regular classroom, grow up and leave the house? The doctor didn't give me any clear answers to those questions that day. I walked away with my beautiful son and a stack of papers that would give me more information on this diagnosis.

I suspect it's a similar process when you are told your child has cancer. Big words, stacks of papers, and an uncertain future. A devastating diagnosis leaves you feeling like you are trapped in a tornado. The world literally stops and all you know is that you will do Anything for your child.

I know when we received the diagnosis that our son had Autism I wanted to do everything in my power to help him. I reached out to the best therapists, I read every book I could get my hands on, and I spent almost every waking hour trying to get my child to interact with me. For kids with cancer, St. Jude is the best of the best.

Today that devastating diagnosis isn't quite so devastating. He's in a regular 3rd grade classroom. He's working on his black belt in Karate, he plays baseball, and he has friends. He still struggles though. He's still on the Autism Spectrum, but I never thought I would see that devastating diagnosis as a blessing and today I do.

For those families battling cancer that devastating diagnosis literally means life or death. Those who make it through are forever grateful. I'm sure they make more of the little moments in life that so many of us take for granted.

For those who lose their precious children, life is never ever the same.

You never know when YOU will get that devastating diagnosis. You never know when it will be YOUR child.

BECOME A PARTNER IN HOPE

Call 1-800-372-4999