Cancer Sucks Group, anyone?

AmyBrenn

For the past 6 months, I have been living the nightmare that is cancer. My 3 year old son (3 today!) was diagnosed with brain cancer on March 2010 and during this, I have discoverd I am definitely a stress eater. I've put on about 10 pounds. Add that to the 30 pounds I needed to lose to begin with and you have one fat momma!

I blogged about it yesterday. If you're interested, see the link below. There's also a link to our Caring Bridge page that follows our journey.

If anyone's interested in a Cancer Sucks support group, let me know. It's always comforting to hear from others who have been there, done that!

Amy B
Mom to Kaiden, my superhero!

Beebee78

I just wanted to send you masses of hugs xxx

sexylonglegs

Oh my gosh...{hugs}. Many prayers!

rikasmom

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kaiden!! And may you be blessed with many,many more!!! :flowerforyou:

e1ny

Wishing you and your family the best. Thanks for sharing your blog. My little boy just turned 4 a few days ago. Sounds like yours is a strong little guy and very inspiring!

messyhare

I'm so sorry!! Yes, cancer SUCKS!! I've experienced it up close & personal with several family members.

I'm going to go read your blog now - stay strong for both yourself & your little one!!

themommie

just wanted to send you hugs and prayers. It would be hard to think about eating healthy or taking care of yourself when your little one has cancer and you are back and forth to the hospital and dr. Hang in there, you can do this you are a strong mom

andjack

My sisters and I, as well as many of our friends, run for Childhood Cancer. Our friend started an organization called Caleb's Crusade to help fund research, assist families, and eventually build a bereavement ranch, as unfortunately, her son passed in March of 2008. They have a Caring Bridge page for him, his name is Caleb Whan. You can also go to www.calebscrusade.com and get in touch with Moe who may know other moms whose children have had the same cancer as your child. There's also 46 mommas shave for the brave, who may be able to help you. Best wishes to you and yours!

chrissyh

Absolutely, CANCER SUCKS!

Amy I cannot imagine how hard it's been for you. BIG HUG!!

I understand the stress eating - it's been a part of my life my whole life but when I had cancer it was much worse...hey I deserved those creamsicles after chemo, right?! Well they catch up to your hips quickly.

BigGail

Yep -it sucks big time!

Love and hugs to you and your precious little boy x Can't imagine what you're going through. :flowerforyou:

Happy birthday little man, and many more healthy happy ones to follow I hope x

svgarcia

I'm so sorry to hear that. hugs to kaiden.
My dad has been diagnosed right before thanksgiving 2009 for esophageal cancer, stage 3. I've been there taking him to most of his appointments with specialists, chemotheraphy, some of his radiation appt.
He had an aggressive treatment. 6 wks chemo & 5 days a week for 6 weeks radiation.
We just had another CTSCAN done earlier this month & DR says it shrank 20%. We will do another one in December as the DR says it usually takes 6 months to see the full effect on the chemo/radiation treatment.

I will def. keep your family & esp. Kaiden in my prayers. So young
Happy b-day to him and may he be blessed with many more to come.
aloha--

tracyts

Big hugs to you and best birthday wishes to your son! There is nothing more inspiring or hard than watching your child or loved one fight a battle for life. Lifting you both up in prayer...

msemejuru

You are in my prayers. I will make sure to lift up your son's name in my prayer group tonight. Hang tough!

godblessourhome

i agree cancer sucks! big hugs to you.

my dad died on may 20 from prostate cancer and my hubby's grandpa passed away from acute leukemia. childhood cancer is by far the worst though. i am praying for your son.
dawn

Aeriel

I am very sorry to hear about your son's diagnosis. I hope the prognosis is hopeful. I take a fruit juice daily (Gochi) that is supposed to have had really good results at trials at John Hopkins ( I think) with helping with reducing the severity of effects from cancer treatments and even helping fight the cancer by reducing body acidity. I can probably find the data again if you are interested. All it is is fruit juice that is very high in antioxidants. I use it as a preventative because of my families history of cancer.

AmyBrenn

Thanks for all your replies. I'm always open to any suggestions, so feel free to offer advice, tips, motivation, etc...

Kaiden's original prognosis was not great. It wasn't horrific, but it wasn't great either. Chances of children with his type of tumor (Grade 4, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor, sPNET) have about a 40% chance of making it to their 5th birthday; however, I do not believe in those statistics because my son is one of a kind!

nopeekiepeekie

Hi Amy! I've been where you're at (my daughter's birthday is today too, she's 12). She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008 and went through 2 1/2 years of chemo, bone marrows & spinal taps. She's been playing fast pitch softball for the last two years & just started on the swim team. She was lucky. She didn't get sick from her chemo but once (my fault because I forgot to give her the nausea meds), and she was hospitalized a few times for various fevers and once for pneumonia (right at the end of her treatment.... she almost missed her last day of grade school in June). She lost her hair twice, which is bad enough for any kid, but twice as bad for an almost teenage girl and went from having stick straight thin blonde hair to having curly dark brown hair (though her curls have straightened out more as she lets her hair grow)

While my daughter was being treated for her cancer, my Dad was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer (he's in year 2 of his treatments that will last the rest of his life)

While watching all these children being treated for various cancers I've learned one thing. Children are amazingly resilient.

AmyBrenn

Children are amazingly resilient.

Unbelievably so!!!

twnzmom

Happy Birthday Big Guy! May you have many more.

AmyBrenn

Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes for my son. He had a great day!

queenmedusa

Am glad he had a good birthday - bless his heart. So difficult for you but I know you'll do everything you can for him.

Completely agree that cancer SUCKS!

AmyBrenn

Kaiden goes for his MRI/spinal tap today. Wish us luck! We start maintenance chemo tomorrow for 6 months. My son's a superhero with everything he's had to endure. Kids never cease to amaze me.

tater8589

Lots of luck, Ya'll are in my prayers. Let me tell you God and prayers work wonders. When I was 12 drs told me (at Christmas) that a spot they removed was cancerous and they were sure I had more. Many many friends and family prayed and lit candles (friends of all faiths) for me. I'm now 25 and the dr's have never found anything else. I will add you to the prayer list at my church. God Bless, and know you have a whole support system here when you need us

I have to add this, I went to highschool with a kid (i say kid, he's an adult now) that was predicted to pass on at the age of 2, he is only 3 ft tall and has an oxygen machine, but he graduated high school is in collge and was in the top 10 of his class. Miracle happen everyday.

AmyBrenn

Initial results of the MRI and spinal tap are clear!!! We might just be getting closer to saying my son is cancer free!!!

AmyBrenn

Our oncologist just declared my son in REMISSION!!! No signs of cancer!!!! What a glorious day!!!

queenmedusa

That's just the BEST news! I'm really pleased for you all :flowerforyou:

PatriciaO

I had cancer in the stomach last year and it was a terrible time for me, but my child having cancer is about the worst think that can happen to a person. My prayers are with you. I literaly am crying to read about you going thru such a think. I will pray for you and add you to my prayer chain at church. I have seen amazing things happen thru our prayer chain. Now about your weight gain, I will also pray that you can get thru this also. Weight gain will pull you now more and zap your energy. I hope you can find plenty of support here to help you thru this and plenty of ideas of things you can eat while going back and forth. One thing I am doing, no matter where i go now I carry FREEZER BAG in my car that I pack before I leave my house for any length of time. Several Bottles of water, a container of yogurt, fresh fruit and a bag of pretzels. Also I double pack in a ziplock bag a bag of ice to slip down in the bag. I slip the bag of ice back in the freezer when i get home so it is ready for the next trip out. Now I have emergency healthy foods tha tI have woked into my daily journal. Love and prayers to you

tater8589

I'm so happy for you You'll stay in my prayers :flowerforyou:

FitJoani

Im so sorry to hear your news. But I would be very game to join the support group. I lost my grandma(who took the place of my mom) as well as a close family friend(who stepped in as an auxillary mother figure) to it. I can feel anyones pain and lend a supportive ear

FitJoani

Im so sorry to hear your news. But I would be very game to join the support group. I lost my grandma(who took the place of my mom) as well as a close family friend(who stepped in as an auxillary mother figure) to it. I can feel anyones pain and lend a supportive ear

FitJoani

Im so sorry to hear your news. But I would be very game to join the support group. I lost my grandma(who took the place of my mom) as well as a close family friend(who stepped in as an auxillary mother figure) to it. I can feel anyones pain and lend a supportive ear