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Testimonies: How I coped with my parent's cancer

My father was diagnosed with colon and bladder cancer in December 1998. He refused to have radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. I was scared to death, I did not want my father to die. I did everything that I could to keep him comfortable, and happy. I involved my husband, my uncle, and my mother to assist in his care.

After six months, my father took a turn for the worse, and was admitted into the hospital for fluids. When he was released, we were told that he would only live another three months. He only lived another two weeks.

During this time, I shut down all emotions, and just did whatever was needed. I unfortunately also shut out my husband, my mother, and my friends. I had turned into a mechanical person. I just went to work, and home.

When I thought that life had resumed a semblance of normalcy, I became pregnant, and was due the following year on my father's birthday. This was great news, and my mother was ecstatic about the whole thing. After I had my daughter, I learned that I had skin cancer on my nose. I was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma, caused by getting too many sunburns as a child. I did everything that my doctor said, and the cancer was gone in six weeks.

Once again, life was beautiful, and all was right in my world. Unfortunately that was a false truth as well. My mother was diagnosed in October 2002 with Lung and Brain cancer. She underwent the radiation treatments, and started the chemotherapy. As it happens, my mother did not complete the chemotherapy treatments, and she passed away within six months of her initial diagnosis. My half sister came down to help out with my mother, and we became alienated to each other. I was more concerned with what needed to be done for my mother, and her husband, than with what my sister really wanted, to clean out my mothers possessions at her home.

Again, life returned to normal. I started getting involved with my immediate family, and friends. We decided to move to Florida to be near my husbands father, for my husbands sanity. Last year, January 21, 2007 I was diagnosed with colon cancer, and admitted into emergency surgery to have my colon re-sectioned.

I woke up the following day, to meet with the doctors. The surgeon told me that I had colon cancer, but he thinks that he removed all of it. I proceeded to ask him what we needed to do next. He then introduced me to my cancer doctor. I was given all of my options, and I replied, "When can we start?


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