These are ALL normal feelings experienced by many parents of children with cancer. These feelings may be very different from what you usually feel and think, but you and your family have been told what many parents think of as their worst nightmare come true – a child diagnosed with cancer.
You Will Not Always Feel This Badly and Hurt So Deeply
Especially right after you learn your child has cancer, it is very normal to feel sad, scared, and confused about what will happen from here. You may feel lost, like your usual ways of coping just aren’t up to this challenge and you are not sure how you are going to help your family. You are exhausted and don’t know when you will get any more rest, as each day brings new challenges for you and your child.
You will be amazed at how much better and in control and calmer you will feel even in a few weeks as you see your child get the treatment he or she needs and know how it will all work. Right now everything is new and that makes it very hard to draw on your usual coping resources and strengths. Make a date with yourself for a month from now and you will be surprised at how differently you will feel. Every day will not be as hard as these days.
This part of the website can help you to:
- Know how others have felt and gotten through their child’s treatment.
- Understand how the decisions about your child’s care will be made.
- Find someone for you, your child, or your spouse to talk with about your feelings and about how best to support all your children – your sick child and your other children – and yourself- through this experience.