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My 14 year old son is newly diagnosed with osteo and alhough he wouldn't reach out himself, I know that he would feel better if he could talk to someone who is going or has gone through the chemo experience. Thank You
Hello,
I'm so sorry to hear that your son is ill. Our Grand-daughter (3yrs old) was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma April 22 of this years. She had a very large tumor in the left femur. Her road map consisted of 31 weeks of chemo. 3 weeks on and 2 weeks off. With her hospital stays averaging 4 to 6 days each week. One of her chemo's always has put her back in the hospital because of a fever. Which her stay in the hospital would last about 5 days. So if you figure all those chemo visits, we have pretty much been in the hospital for the last 4 1/2 months. Not home too much. Kayla(our grand-baby) has really been a trooper through all of this.. On July 9th, they had to amputate her left leg at mid thigh. She is still waiting for her leg to heal so she can be fitted to a new leg. Her treatment is suppose to end on November 31. As long as she doesn't miss any treatments until then.
You guys will do fine. Of course everyone is different. The chemo treatments can be hard on the patient. Loss of Appetite, Nausea, Tried. And of course if they are on steroids, they seem to have a attidute. That can be hard on the parents. Stay strong. Take care of your son, and please don't forget to take care of you. Without you being healthy, you will be no good to your son.
Email me anytime
Tim and Kimra
tim43wiggins@yahoo.com
Hello,
I'm so sorry to hear that your son is ill. Our Grand-daughter (3yrs old) was dianogesd with ostresarcoma April 22 of this years. She had a very large tumor in the left femar. Her road map consisted of 31 weeks of chemo. 3 weeks on and 2 weeks off. With her hospital stays averaging 4 to 6 days each week. One of her chemo's always has put her back in the hospital because of a fever. Which her stay in the hospital would last about 5 days. So if you figure all those chemo visits, we have pretty much been in the hospital for the last 4 1/2 months. Not home too much. Kayla(our grandbaby) has really been a trooper through all of this.. On July 9th, they had to amputate her left leg at mid thigh. She is still waiting for her leg to heal so she can be fitted to a new leg. Her treatment is supposted to end on November 31. As long as she doesnt miss any treatments until then.
You guys will do fine. Of cource everyong is different. The chemo treatments can be hard on the patient. Loss of appitite, Nausea, Tried. And of cource if they are on steroids, they seem to have a attidute. That can be hard on the parents. Stay strong. Take care of your son, and please don't forget to take care of you. Without you being healthy, you will be no good to your son.
Email me anytime
Tim and Kimra
tim43wiggins@yahoo.com
Dear wigout, thank you for replying. I guess it just helps to hear about someone else making it through this process. I hope your grand-daughter does well. It sounds like she has guardian angel grandparents to watch over her. I'm not on the computer much but I would love to hear how Kayla is doing throughout her treatment. My thoughts will be with you. Tanya
My daughter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma as a sixteen year old in 2006. Her treatment lasted a little less than a year and included the amputation of her left leg just above the knee.
Our famly's experience was chronicled on our CarePage site (www.carepages.com AshleyHendrick).
My daughter is now 19 and doing wonderful. Though she does live with a permanent reminder of what she went through, she is a sophomore in college pursuing a goal of working as a youth minister. Her cancer experience had many negative effects on her and our family, but as I look today I can see many positive effects as well. We have never ben closer for one and we have learned in a very real way how important it is to rely on God.
I wish you the best in your journey. Be strong and know that God will never leave you.
Jerry (Ashley's dad)
www.carepages.com AshleyHendrick
Dear Jerry, thank you for your inspiring words. It helps to hear about your daughter surviving and doing well. It gives me hope for our future. If Ashley would ever be interested in sharing her experiences with my son, my son may be willing to communicate with her through Email. There are some questions that I just can't answer sometimes. Thank you , Tanya-BJsmom
My daughter Syd would I'm sure like a pen pal- and being close to the same age would make it even better. Tomorrow is our BIG day for our end of 30 wk treatment of chemo to get our Ct's and Bone scan to see if the cancer has returned...so we are still awake...
her caringbridge is www.caringbridge.org/visit/sydneyboyer
what I've learned, these kids are so much STRONGER emotionally than the parents, they hold more faith and less fear... Keep positive and never give up on the moment.... you WILL be able to do all it takes, mikki
Hi, So sorry to hear about your son. My daughter is an ALL Survivor. There is also another website, called P(arents)A(gainst)C(ancer)2 or PAC2, (see site below) that is sponsored by parents, patients, friends and families of kids with cancer. The goals are to support each other and to raise awareness about ped cancer. There is a support group specifically for kids to talk to each other. I have to admit that that group seems to be growing slowly but perhaps you could find another parent whose teen could help your son. Teens especially need each other! There is also a group specifically for sarcoma with 50 members - so that might help. People share their experiences with each other, ask questions as well as make suggestions.
Also, if you get a caringbridge page or a caring page, other ped cancer families will hear about it and as you post entries, they become an extraordinary support system and a great place to vent.
God Bless,
Sherry (Fiona's Mom)
http://curechildhoodcancer.ning.com/group/brothersandsisters
My daughter was diagnosed with ALL this past January. She was 6 at the time, now 7. It was hard for her to reach out to other kids but she really opened up to her pyschologist that was assigned to her once she became a patient of MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston, TX. I know your son is older but you may want to try that too.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND FOR SHARING YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH ME. I HOPE EVERYONE IS DOING WELL. dON'T HAVE MUCH TIME THESE DAYS AS BRANDON IS HAVING CHEMO 5 DAYS A WEEK. hAVING A HARDER TIME DEALING WITH THE MEDICAL STAFF THAN THE DIAGNOSIS RIGHT NOW. HOW CAN PEOPLE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION HAVE SUCH A LACK OF COMPASSION??i JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.
Hi there,
My name is Jen and I'm an osteosarcoma survivor. I have been done with treatment and doing well for the past 14 years! During my treatment I found it extremely helpful to talk to some who had "been in my shoes" at one time. I still believe that no one can really understand what you're going through unless they too have been there. After my treatment I mentored cancer patients one on one for quite time until I created my own support network called "Connect." I decided to go to medical school to become a pediatric oncologist. I've now graduated and am currently in my pediatrics residency training preparing for fellowship. I feel like I am starting to appreciate both perspectives (patient and provider) and work hard to deliver the same amount of positive support and compassion that I was so fortunate to receive from my oncologist. It always bothers me when I hear about patients not receiving this type of care and I'm sorry that seems to be the case recently. Getting the diagnosis and starting treatment is extremely stressful. I would love to email your son to help him through this time. Also, I plan to start a blog soon to chronicle my experiences with cancer, residency, clinical research, and survivorship. I'm post a link here once I get started :) My email is krueg456@umn.edu. Feel free to contact me.
-Jen
Dear Jen, the world needs more people like you!!! I,too, am a healthcare provider (RN) and I have seen an influx of people into the field of nursing mainly because it is a steady, well paying job. I try to take care of all of my patients with compassion and kindness. I fully understand the time constraints and the other demands that are placed upon the medical team but I think alot of humanity has been lost along the way. I am just trying to make a horrible situation better for my son. I would love for you to EMAIL my son as he would probably never contac you on his own(you know how 14 year olds can be) Our address is tcntb@AOL.com and we look forward to hearing from you. Gratefully Yours,Tanya P.S. my son's name is Brandon:)
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