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A child’s cancer diagnosis sends a ripple effect through everyone who loves them – but when you’re a grandparent or other secondary caregiver of a child with cancer, it can be hard to balance your own emotions while remaining a steady source of support to those closest to the fight. Cindy found herself in that situation when her granddaughter, Bella, was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma in …
California Zein was 5 years old and training hard in taekwondo when his first cancer symptoms started to creep in. His dad, Tamer, noticed that Zein was sweating much more than usual and complaining of body aches and leg pain. Tamer assumed it was just a result of his vigorous training, but it slowly got worse – Zein was sweating through his sheets at night, …
This post was written by Tabitha Radermacher and was originally posted on the CaringBridge page for Bella, her daughter, who was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma in 2017. The last time I braided Bella’s hair was the week of her diagnosis in April 2017. I vividly remember holding back tears while braiding Bella’s long, blonde hair, knowing it would more than likely be the last time for …
When Minnesota physician Arden Virnig hopped on his bike nearly every day in the summer of 2015, his thoughts went to the empty saddle behind him. That June, he rode hundreds of miles on a tandem bike with one empty saddle, a symbol of his daughter, Mary Catherine. The rhythm of his pedaling reminds him of how Mary Catherine’s braid would whip back and forth …
When 5-year-old Patrick was diagnosed with cancer, he was over 14,000 miles from home. His family had just moved to Indonesia for Patrick’s dad, Joe’s, job and were just starting to get settled when Joelle, Patrick’s mom, noticed a bump was getting larger under his left eye. When it didn’t go away, Patrick and Joelle flew from Indonesia to Singapore to try to find out …
When a child is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a body of work from the University of Minnesota scientists over the past decade suggests the child generally falls into one of two groups – those who have a less aggressive form of the cancer and those with a more aggressive form. This essentially means that Group A has a good chance of being alive in 10 years …
Today, Michelle is enjoying her life, sending her two young boys off to school and running her own company. But when she thinks back to when she was 20 years old, she remembers telling her mom she didn’t know if she could go on living. “I was totally tapped out, mentally, physically and spiritually,” Michelle said. “I remember telling my mom I just wanted to …
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the child and the family face challenges they never knew existed — but they also find strength they didn’t know they had. Cancer has a mighty fierce opponent in kids – because these kids are mighty strong, and their stories are mighty powerful. Through our partnership with Momcology, we asked cancer caregivers to tell us about a time …
When you meet 18-year-old Allison, you might notice her short and sassy haircut or her wide, generous smile. You might notice the tattoo on her left wrist that reads “Fearless” in elegant handwriting. But you definitely would never guess that she’s in the middle of a fight with cancer for the second time in her young life. At age three, Allison was diagnosed with a …
“Whoa. This is a real thing,” I thought to myself when I finally realized where my brain was going. We had been home from the hospital for a month when thoughts of guilt, shame and suppressing my own joy slowly began creeping in. It wasn’t because I wasn’t happy to be home with my healthy (cancer) kid. Oh no, I was elated to be home …
When 15-year-old Elizabeth was preparing for her gymnastics competition last December, she was barely thinking about the surgery she had the week before to remove a small tumor. Doctors thought it was benign, and they cleared her to compete over the weekend. She went to gymnastics practice on Friday night before her competition without really worrying, until her parents came to pick her up. They …
When your family is facing cancer, you might feel like you are continually running on fumes. You haven’t showered, gone grocery shopping, or slept nearly enough in the past week, and you are constantly bracing yourself for another round of bad news. When you feel like you’re ready to crack, the smallest act of kindness from a friend or a stranger can give you the …
This week, we lost a spirited advocate, fearless supporter and dear friend. Taylor Lieber, who has fought three different types of cancer since she was first diagnosed in 2012, passed away on Monday, August 12 at the age of 22. She was surrounded by her parents, Lauren and Dan, and her brother, Michael. Taylor and her family have been closely connected to CCRF, and she …
Isolation – it’s one of the many painful challenges cancer families experience during and after treatment. Many parents feel they can’t leave their child’s side, and they feel guilty if they leave the hospital or the house to do things their child can’t. On top of it all, it can often feel like nobody else you know understands what your family is going through. But …
In talking about a new project to develop new treatments for osteosarcoma, University of Minnesota researcher Beau Webber, PhD, uses a word he doesn’t typically get to use: cure. “I don’t throw that word around, and I definitely don’t use it lightly,” Webber said. “But it’s hard to overstate the potential here. It’s realistic to have that as our goal – there’s a real chance …
This piece was originally posted on July 17, 2019 by Kristy Westrom on the CaringBridge page for her son, Liam, who was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in May 2018. When Liam was first diagnosed, I had such a hard time with the fact that he was so young. How on earth could this little body, that has been given all the best since …
Sixteen-year-old Nate is most himself when he is playing his guitar. He’s been playing since he was around 10 years old, and his favorite songs to play are all over the place – they range from heavy metal Metallica to ska punk band Sublime. What Nate most looks for in a good guitar song is a challenge. But last year, a different kind of challenge …
When your child is diagnosed with cancer, it changes the lens through which you view the world. Things look and feel different, and certain things matter far more or far less than they used to. With the help of our partner, Momcology, a national peer support and community building foundation, we asked a group of pediatric cancer families, “What do you see differently since becoming a …
