Support Groups for Children with Parents that have Cancer
Support Groups for Children with Parents that have Cancer
Vermont, should be ashamed of yourself ?
One of the things that’s been driving me crazy from the get-go of this cancer thing, is that there seems to be “0″ as in zero, support or support groups, for young children with a parent that has cancer. If there are any, they awfully well hidden. If I it make through all this, and I still have any energy left, even close to what I’ve had before, THAT is where I’m going to focus it.
It’s an unbelievable feeling to sit in a doctor’s office and be told you only have a short time to live and you’d best rush to get all your “ducks in a row” … but that’s nothing, it pales, in comparison to going home and telling your family. But wait, it gets even worse when you have to explain to your children. The words “Dad has cancer” just don’t want to come out of your mouth. They can’t, they stick somewhere between your heart and your brain and they dribble out of the corner of your mouth jumbled like a bag of bad letters in a Scrabble game.
Its amazing how poorly we’re prepared for an event like introducing cancer into a child’s world. Yet it’s so common. According to the state of Vermonts most recent online report on health statistics, there are more then 26,000 Vermonters currently living with some sort of cancer. Granted, they are all not life threatning, but they certainly are life altering … and wow! no support groups for the kids. That ain’t right my friends … that’s just not good enough.
Cancer is a “hard” word to most adults to say … they don’t want to hear. It’s absolutely terrifying to a child.
It’s gotten me angry. Yeah, there are a few books and pamphlets out there … but that don’t cut it for kids.
