Parenting Through Cancer Blog Series

Breast cancer doesn’t care.

• It doesn’t care that you are newly retired and would rather be reclining on the dock at the lake instead of in the chemotherapy infusion room.
• It doesn’t care that you just started a new job and can’t take time off every day to go to your radiation appointments.
• It doesn’t care that you just got married and were thinking of starting a family.
• It doesn’t care that your first grandchild was just born and you’d love to gather them in your ams but you just had a double mastectomy.
• It doesn’t care that you are single and dating.

Through recent interviews with Firefly participants, it is clear that breast cancer certainly doesn’t care that you are a parent.

In our blog series—Parenting Through Cancer—you can read about:

Part 1: Melissa Turgeon, Angel Foundation’s Director of Facing Cancer Together, who shared information about their family and child centered programs available to adults facing a cancer diagnosis and their children. Parenting Through Cancer: Ease the Guilt

Part 2: Dana*, whose own needs during her breast cancer treatment were often second to the toddler issues with her child. Parenting Through Cancer: Young Children

Part 3: Marie*, who shared how difficult it was to deal with teenage rebellion and lack of compassion. Parenting Through Cancer: Teens & Young Adults

Part 4: Carolyn*, who struggles with family and friends seeing her looking normal and expecting her to be “normal” even though she has metastatic breast cancer and will always be receiving treatment. Parenting Through Cancer: Moms with Metastatic Breast Cancer

We are incredibly inspired by these and each of the other stories in these blogs. Our hope is that as you connect with these women through print, you find comfort, encouragement and hope.

*Names have been changed to protect participants and their children.

Written by Amy Tix, Firefly Staffer and breast cancer survivor, who struggled to parent toddlers while going through surgeries and treatments.