When your sons are both diagnosed with cancer

One day, our 2-year-old son Javon complained about a bit of pain at daycare. It seemed harmless enough. But after a visit to the pediatrician, we ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery. There, they discovered that a mass in his body was causing the pain. “Cancer?” we feared, but it was too early to confirm. As young, first-time parents, their father and I were unsure where to turn for help. There’s no manual on how to be a parent when you hear the news that your son has been diagnosed with cancer. Our doctor referred us to Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and for two years we traveled from Brockton to Boston, where Javon received treatment before entering remission when he was 4. For a while, everything seemed fine and our family was in good health, visiting Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s every six months for checkups. Then, we started to notice something was wrong with our youngest son, Terell. At first we thought it might be an infection. We were trying not to panic, but we knew we had to follow our instincts and we brought Terell to his primary care physician. Test after test, we grew more concerned. I kept thinking: “You have been through this before; it’s rare for siblings to be diagnosed with cancer.” Although Javon had finished treatment, we were worried about his cancer coming back. The last thing on our mind was that our youngest son would go through the same thing. But that’s what happened, and we ended...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Source Type: news