Your child was just diagnosed with cancer and my heart goes out to you. Diagnosis day is a day forever imprinted in your soul – “D-Day” in our house: January 6th, 1999. I’ll never forget that wash of shock, fear, and utter paralysis when our daughter’s Oncologist called us at home with the news: Cecilia had leukemia.

As much as you want to crawl back under the blankets after getting that call, life in the childhood cancer world very quickly demands that you wake up, pay very close attention, and get organized as you immediately become the primary advocate and gatekeeper for your child’s treatment years and follow-up care. This includes everything related to your child’s diagnosis — from her treatment to the emotional impact to the sudden changes in her life….and yours. And nobody really tells you that this is what you’ve signed up for, at least not in the medical community – they are busy saving your child’s life, after all. After those first few days in the hospital for diagnosis, we were clearly expected to quickly get our shit together – what choice do you have as a parent of a kid with cancer? We felt the overwhelming need for helpand had no clue how to ask for it or exactly what we needed help doing- besides everything.

(Originally published on January 21, 2022 for Elephants and Tea Magazine)